Love from the Control Room: A Gamemaker's Story
by lgkavanagh22
Summary: A Gamemaker's job is to produce a good show. But what happens when Panem's first female and youngest Head Gamemaker (at 19 years old) falls for a tribute that won't be able to win without help from the Control Room? She will need to separate her feelings from her job and figure out which is worse: losing the boy she loves or what would happen if she was caught cheating for him.
1. My Introduction

_Author's Note: This story is going to start out slowly, but it will build as the story progresses. I've been working on this for months, so I hope you like it! :)_

As I stood backstage waiting for President Snow to announce my name, my palms began to sweat. I was about to be announced as Head Gamemaker for the 42nd annual Hunger Games. The previous Gamemaker, Winky, had retired last year, and President Snow had selected me as his successor.

My name is Leta Constantine and not only am I Panem's youngest Head Gamemaker (I'm only 19), I am also the first female.

I've watched the Hunger Games my entire life and have even been able to watch Games from before I was born on tape.

I was selected as a potential Gamemaker when I was 12, and have been training to be one ever since.

I was a Co-Gamemaker last year, but my hours were 2-4 am, so I never really got to do anything besides knock a tree down to wake a tribute up. But this year was going to be different. This was my year as Head Gamemaker.

I had been selected as Head Gamemaker about a week after the 41st Hunger Games ended. The victor, a girl from District 4 named Capelin, had just been welcomed in the Capitol to end her Victory Tour. I was to be formally announced as Head Gamemaker at the banquet in the Capitol, a sort of grand finale to her Victory Tour.

I had taken about a month to create an arena and 4 months supervising the construction before the Victory Tour began.

That's where I was now, just waiting for Snow to finish his speech and introduce me.

I paced back and forth in my gold dress. It extended all the way to the floor, followed by a long train in the back. I hated to think about the embarrassment that would ensue if I tripped on it.

"I would now, without further ado, like to introduce to you and all of Panem," President Snow's voice boomed, "Leta Constantine, the Head Gamemaker of the 42nd Annual Hunger Games!"

I wiped my palms on my dress. This is it. I walked slowly out to the dinner hall. Cameras filled every corner and a long table filled with people applauding greeted me.

I smiled and waved as effortlessly as my nerves would allow. I could tell almost everyone was shocked by my age. I was the youngest Head Gamemaker by almost 15 years. Some looked skeptical, others were ecstatic. All were surprised.

The dinner that followed was a blur of people, congratulating me and wanting to get a picture with me. Some tried to get confidential information about the arena I had created, asking questions and prodding me for information. Most of the visitors, however, simply wanted to meet me. Head Gamemaker held celebrity status here in the Capitol and all of Panem. It was a big deal.

And I got to live it!


	2. The First Interview

About a week before Reaping Day, I had my first interview with Caesar Flickerman, the Master of Ceremonies for the Hunger Games. I was dressed in a bright deep purple dress that sparkled with tiny diamonds, and extended almost to my knee. My hair was streaked with purple and pulled into a ponytail on the top of my head, and I wore purple tinted contacts to match my dress.

As Caesar announced my name, I walked onto the stage, much more confident than I had 6 months earlier when President Snow announced it at the Victory Tour. I had finally learned how to work a crowd, and I think Panem finally loved me.

I took a seat as the applause died down. Caesar began with his questions.

"So this is your first year as Head Gamemaker. How does it feel?"

"Absolutely incredible, Caesar. I'm so excited!" I smiled involuntarily.

He laughed. "We can certainly tell. And we are excited too, aren't we!?" The crowd applauded and screamed in agreement. He continued with "Now, you're been creating and overseeing construction of your first arena." He leaned in closer to me. "Can you give us some spoilers about what it'll be?"

I giggled, because I wasn't allowed to give anything away to anyone, especially on live television. "Sorry, I can't say anything right now. But I can promise you won't be disappointed."

Caesar made a mock-disappointed face. "Oh, come on, not even a hint?" The crowd applauded.

"Oh, alright!" The crowd went wild. I was told I was allowed to give one hint, and said the words exactly how they told me to: "It happens every year, but we're taking it to the extreme for these Games."

Caesar smiled. "Ooo, a nice hint indeed." The crowd clapped. "Now, you are Panem's first female Head Gamemaker. How does that feel?"

"It's awesome. I think I'll be able to bring a new aspect while still keeping the integrity of the Games."

"This could also be true because you are also our youngest Head Gamemaker. 19 years old, wow!" The crowd applauded, because my age had become my defining feature, and people loved me for it. "How did it feel," Caesar continued, "when you found out President Snow had picked you?"

I paused. I had gone over my answer to this question over and over, but I was still too stunned by the statement _'President Snow picked you'_ to think straight. I collected myself and responded, "I was speechless. Becoming a Head Gamemaker is the dream of every Capitol child, and I get to live it, and at a pretty young age. It's incredible."

Caesar nodded. "I can imagine. I used to want to be a Gamemaker, but come on…how could we keep this off a television?" He struck a few poses, which made the audience erupt in laughter and applause of agreement. I had to laugh too.

"It would surely be a crime Caesar!"

He continued with his questions once everything had calmed down. "Now Leta, what are your hopes for your first Games?"

I knew the answer to this one by heart. It's what I've always wanted out of a Games.

"I want good tributes. Everyone knows that a good Games starts with good tributes. I don't want wimps who will give up right after the gong, I want fighters: ruthless fighters who'll do anything to win. People we'll remember even if they don't win."

The audience applauded. I smiled confidently.

Caesar looked impressed. "That's certainly true, it is a necessity for a good Games to have good tributes. That's a fantastic observation for someone so young."

"Thank you."

"That must be why President Snow chose you, you have an eye for the Games!" The crowd murmured in agreement. "Now our time has come to a close, but one last question- what does all this-" he gestured around, "-these Games- mean to you?"

"It means…it means survival. Pride. It means reflecting on our past and learning from it to prepare for our future and grow as a nation. That's what it means to me."

"Such an intelligent girl. I'm so looking forward to these Games," he finished. He took my hand and kissed it. Then he raised it up into the air.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your Head Gamemaker!"


	3. Meet My Crew

When I was first told I was going to be Head Gamemaker, I was excited beyond belief. But deep down, I knew that dozens of people, the majority of which were way high on the social ladder, were passed up for me to receive this position. I was scared to death that I would not be accepted, they wouldn't listen to me, or they would try to control me. But I found that I didn't have to worry about that at all.

I had previously worked with all of my most important crew-mates. Our 3 tech operators were Luna, Scot, and Evangelos. They were all middle-aged, but incredibly smart. Scot wasn't so keen on a 19-year-old Head Gamemaker, but he listened to me anyways.

The other Gamemakers had all been present for the 41st HG, and one had even been a Gamemaker for the first ever Games. I had 4 Co-Gamemakers, 4 people who would be my informants- Wylie, Jennipher, Holland, and Etta, each of whom would take my place for 2 hours at night while I slept. Wylie and Etta were 16 years old and each potential Gamemakers, so they would get the latest hours when not much happened, but they would be able to hang out in the Control Room during the day as much as they wished.

My last main crew-mate was Blaine Trehold, who was my Assistant Head Gamemaker. Basically, he would be by my side for everything; my right-hand-man. I could bounce ideas off of him, consult him on decisions, and get his help whenever I needed it. He had been Assistant Head Gamemaker for 3 years and was only 23 years old. He had really helped me during my studies as a potential Gamemaker and during my time as Co-Gamemaker. He had become one of my best friends and I was really happy he got to be my Assistant Head Gamemaker.

He was really handsome, in a geeky kind of way. His hair was a dirty blonde, with bright blue streaks that matched his eyes. Colored hair was all the rage in the Capital, and very few people let themselves be seen in public without some kind of color in their hair. He was only taller than me by a few inches, and was of average build. He was incredibly smart, and knew more words that I even knew existed. Basically, he was my best friend, and I loved him to death.

My crew was all around perfect. I knew it would be a great experience and a great Games.


	4. One Tribute Stands Out

I sat in the Control Room with Blaine. The Reaping in District 1 was about to begin.

Their Capital escort, Ursula, tapped the mic.

"Live," said Luna, our tech operator for the day. I nodded.

After we finally had our District 1 tributes (after a long, complicated volunteer system), I had Luna cut straight to District 2. This continued all the way to District 12, where we ended up with 2, weak, sickly looking tributes.

"Well, we know our victor isn't from 12," Blaine said.

I smiled. "Yeah, for sure."

Luna hit the switch that turned off our live feed. "We're clear," she said.

I sighed in relief. "Alright. Great. They're on their way. Chariots tomorrow night."

I re-watched the Reapings that night. I watched the progression of strong, ruthless volunteers in the earlier Districts to the scared, skinny tributes of the outlying Districts.

They were better than in previous years. We only had one 12-year-old, from District 10. The rest looked capable enough of providing the nation with a memorable Games.

The one tribute who really stood out to me was the boy from 6. Glenn, I think his name was. When he was reaped, people had whispered nervously as they always did, and he walked slowly to the stage to receive his honor. His eyes darted around, possibly looking for a way to escape, maybe hoping someone would volunteer. But by the looks of it, he was the strongest male eligible for participation.

His escort had led him away swiftly. I wondered who went to say goodbye to him.

But I didn't have much time to be occupied with him. I had a Hunger Games to produce.


	5. Don't Mess That Up

The next evening was the Chariot Parade.

As I walked around backstage observing the final preparations for the tributes, I couldn't help but smile. I got what I wanted most for these Games- good tributes. Every single one had confidence in themselves, whether a subtle glint in the eyes like the pair from District 11, or obvious snarls from the tributes from 1, 2, and 4.

Each tribute looked ten times better at this point than they had during their reapings, especially those from outlying districts.

A few minutes later, Blaine rushed in and grabbed my hand, barely giving me time to process that he was there before tugging me away.

"You aren't supposed to me back here, miss," he scolded. For a moment, I thought he was genuinely mad, but when he smiled at me and squeezed my hand, I knew he was joking.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Forgive me?" I said, pretending to give a heartfelt apology. I smiled back at him.

"I can't stay mad at you. You know that," he dropped my hand and poked my side. I laughed as we approached the balcony I would watch the parade from.

"Thanks for the save, Blaine. I owe you one. Good luck in the Control Room," I waved at him as the elevator ascended to the balcony.

When it reached the top, I slid into my seat beside President Snow.

"You're late," he said, without looking my way.

"Just wanted to see how our tributes are. Looks like we have a pretty good group."

He looked at me now. "Do you know why you're Head Gamemaker this year? I passed over dozens of people to award you this honor. Why did I do that?"

My smile faded. "I…I'm not sure, sir."

"Because I like you. I believe in you," he said, turning his head back to the crowd.

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't mess that up," he said solemnly.

We sat there awkwardly until the chariots began to parade down the streets of Panem- District 1 in bright, flashy clothes, District 2 like warriors, etc.

The one tribute who held my attention was once again the boy from 6. He was at least 17, probably 18 years old, tall and very handsome, which I thought would go over well with the Capital. He occupied my thoughts until District 11 passed in their huge overalls and 12 in miners' outfits, coal smudged on their faces.

As the horses lined up, President Snow approached the balcony. Panem went wild. They love him. I smiled. He really was a good President. He gave his usual speech to the tributes:

"Tributes, we welcome you. We salute the courage and your sacrifice. And we wish you Happy Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor."

As he concluded, the nation applauded and the chariots rolled away.

President Snow gave me one last look, then walked to his private suite in the balcony.


	6. Realizations and Acceptance

The day after chariots was when the real fun began-training. This was my first time to ever see training. Our tributes lined up as our Head trainer, Cassia, explained the rules and how training works. My eyes scanned the clump of tributes before me.

The group of kids from Districts 2 and 4 were all standing together and looked ruthless. The pair from 1 stood near them awkwardly, like they knew they were supposed to be in that group, but weren't sure how to integrate themselves. This group was typical. We call them the Primary Alliance in the Capitol, but sometimes we just shorten it to Primaries. They always form an alliance and one of the group almost always wins.

The rest all just looked scared, except maybe the girl from 11, who looked oddly confident. And something about the boy from 7 screamed "I can do this. I pose a threat."

But I still found myself occupied with the boy from 6. He looked a lot different than he had at the Chariot Parade. He wasn't as handsome, but he was cute. His hair was dark and hung almost to his eyes, which were light brown with glints of green, and at the moment they were filled with fear. He was tall, but not as tall as the boys from 1, 2, or 4, and he wasn't very muscular. The glow his stylists had given him for the parade had faded, and all that remained was smudges of orange on the back of his neck.

Before I knew it, Cassia had dismissed them to begin training.

The Primaries headed towards the most ruthless-looking weapons, while everyone else went for survival skills or basic weaponry.

The old men up in the balcony with us, mostly big-time sponsors, looked at each other and laughed among themselves. I think they'd started drinking already. No one was really paying attention except me and Blaine, and one or two men who would occasionally glance their way.

The Primaries were, of course, the most impressive, but the boy from 7 was pretty good with an ax.

"He's from the lumber district," Blaine told me, apparently reading my thoughts. "Of course he knows how to use an ax."

He pointed to a pair in front of the knot-tying station. "They're from 3, and they always do well with survival. They're smart, but very rarely get into the weapons." He turned to another group. "8, 9, and 10…we'll lose at least 4 of them in the First Fight. They get too over-confident and run right into the thick of things." He pointed to the Primary group. "Those'll be the ones to kill 'em."

I smiled. "No, really?" I said sarcastically.

A few minutes later I decided to ask, "What about 6?"

Blaine shrugged. "5 and 6…Those are our wild-cards. Sometimes they end up dead in the first minute, sometimes they can go to the final four. Five years ago our victor was from 6."

I remembered her. A perfect knife throw to the heart of the girl from 8 gave her the victory.

"You know a lot about all this," I said to Blaine, smiling. He smiled back and shrugged.

"It's my job. I'm your right hand man, Ms. HGM."

And with that, we went back to watching.

I tried to watch all of the tributes. I tried focusing my attention in order of district, age, size, and even by hair color. But no matter what, I always ended up stuck on the boy from 6, Glenn.

His eyes could almost never focus on anything. He was constantly on the lookout for who knows what, and he seemed fidgety. But I could tell by watching him that he was smart, and picked up on the survival skills and even the weaponry easily. He was tying knots and making fires quicker than anyone else I saw.

During the group exercises, his hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, and curled slightly with the moisture. I smiled. It was adorably cute.

Wait, what? Adorably cute? Was I really calling a tribute adorably cute?

Glenn swung himself off of the monkey bars and started the sprint that came afterwards. He hadn't had any trouble at all. Maybe he's the underdog in this situation. And doesn't everyone love an underdog? I sure did.

And, I had to admit, I really loved this underdog.


	7. A 5 or a 7 for the Boy from 6

The next two days of training were more of the same. The Primaries impressed while the rest of the tributes gradually learned how to maneuver the various weapons. Even the two from 12 made substantial progress. Before we knew it, the time had come to give the tributes their individual evaluations. The girl from 1 was pretty good, as was her district partner. The girl and boy from 2 were both incredible. The pair from 3 showed their expertise with survival, but nothing with weapons. District 4 was amazing. District 5 left much to be desired, as did the girl from 6.

I smiled with the boy from 6 entered the room. He glanced up towards us and my heart skipped a beat. He reached for a bow when Blaine interrupted him.

"Name and district?"

"Oh, right. Sorry," he muttered. It was the first time I'd heard him speak. His voice wasn't as deep as I thought it'd be, and he had a heavy District 6 accent. "Um, Glenn, from 6," he said. His eyes met mine for a split second before diverting them away quickly.

"Thank you. Go on." Blaine said as he scribbled on Glenn's evaluation sheet.

Glenn grabbed the bow and arrows and, after 3 failed attempts, managed to hit one of the dummies in the heart. He tied a few traps before nodding his head in our direction, locking eyes with me one last time, and walking out.

"No more than a 5, if that," Blaine muttered.

Five?! He couldn't get a sponsor with a five!

"But!..." I calmed myself down. "But he nailed that dummy with a bow and arrow. Isn't that worth at least a 7?"

Blaine laughed. "Maybe. If he had any chance of getting a hold of a bow in the arena. The Primaries would beat him to it or he'd get killed trying. You've seen enough of these Games to know that."

Of course I'd known that. But I needed to get him a good score.

"Fine. Let's meet in the middle. 6. Gets him halfway."

Blaine gave me a weird look. "We'll talk about it," he said skeptically. The girl from 7 had just walked in.

We finished training with standouts from the boy from 7 and the pair from 11.

Afterwards, we had a meeting to talk about scores. We were actually making smooth progress, from the high scores of the Primaries to the low scores of the pair from 5. We had our first problem when we came to Glenn. All of the sponsors agreed with Blaine, but as Head Gamemaker, "majority rules" couldn't shoot me down.

"Leta, he hasn't got a chance! A 5 is generous," Blaine argued.

"Haven't you watched him during training? That's worth a 6, plus he can make traps quickly and accurately, which makes him worth a 7," I argued back.

"_Everyone _can make traps quickly and accurately. And ok, he traps someone. What then? How's he gonna get a kill without a weapon or the strength to make it with?"

I didn't have a good answer for that. "Fine, maybe he's not a 7. But he's smart enough to figure it out. 6."

Blaine sighed. "You were perfectly fine giving the boy from 5 a 3, why not give Glenn a 5?"

"I see something in him. I think he could pull something out."

Blaine held his head in his hand, sighed, and wrote something down. "I suppose a 6 isn't much different than a 5."

I smiled. "I'm glad you see it my way."

We got through the remaining tributes with minimal difficulty. Blaine grabbed his stack of evaluation sheets. "I'll finalize and authorize these and get 'em to Caesar for tonight."

"Sounds good. Thanks, Blaine." He gave me a salute as he left.

I looked at the group of sponsors. "Thank you for considering our tributes," I told them. "Hopefully you'll help your favorites and make the 42nd annual Hunger Games amazing." I flashed a smile, and with that, I left.


	8. He Has a Good Stylist

Interviews found me back with Luna and Evangelos in a tech room near the main stage. Cameras were showing us dozens of potential images to show Panem.

Blaine rushed in. "Claudius is ready."

"Great. Go live," I told Evangelos. He nodded and flipped a switch.

"Show the audience," I told Luna. The screaming residents of the Capitol, all dressed in their best, filled our live feed. Claudius Templesmith's voice boomed through the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your master of ceremonies, Caesar Flickerman!" The audience went wild.

"Show Caesar."

Caesar's smiling face and pale-yellow hair appeared. I smiled. His suit, lips, and eyelashes all matched his hair. He looked amazing.

Caesar gave a speech about how his color choice represented the youth of the Head Gamemaker. Blaine poked me jokingly and I smiled at him. Caesar's speech was filled with wit and charm, and the Capitol people loved it. Finally, he introduced the girl from District 1, Deliah.

"Show her walking onto stage," I told Evangelos. He nodded and soon her long blonde hair and wide smile appeared on screen.

"Back to Caesar for her intro."

We kept switching cameras, getting the best angles of tributes, zooming in and out, panning over their outfits. Occasionally, we'd give a shot of the crowd.

"Ladies and gentleman, the lovely Diesa of District 6!" Caesar held her arm in the air and the audience applauded.

I felt my heart skip a beat. Glenn was next. My stomach dropped as he walked on stage. He was dressed in a brown suit with bright green trim and a sparkling green tie. His eyes darted around, and he looked nervous.

"You'll do fine, they'll love ya," I whispered under my breath.

Blaine turned around to me. "What?" he asked innocently. I felt my cheeks flush.

"I was just saying…he has a good stylist. I…like his suit.," I like. Blaine surveyed Glenn's outfit and gave a nod of agreement. "I guess so."

We got ready for camera switches. His interview was starting.

Glenn sat down beside Caesar and glanced around the audience. He seemed startled by the first question.

"How has it been to be here in the Capitol?"

Glenn thought for a moment and responded, "Really interesting, to say the least. It's a huge contrast to the factories that fill the streets of District 6."

Caesar jumped on the opportunity to talk about the home District. "Ah, that's right. The transportation district. You could have put together the very train that brought you here." He emphasized "very train" with a slight pump of his fist.

Glenn perked up a bit. "Actually, I work on the tech side, not the assembly."

"Oooo, I bet that's interesting," Caesar said, looking to the audience to back him up.

"Yeah, it is. I actually could have been promoted next year if I hadn't been reaped," he said sadly. He got a dejected look and I felt a pang. He needed to just get back home.

Caesar responded to this in his usual optimistic way. "Well, if you win this, you won't need a promotion!" The audience applauded and Caesar laughed. Then he became slightly subdued. "Now Glenn," he said, leaning in. "Can you keep a secret?"

Glenn nodded and, following Caesar's lead, leaned in as well.

"I've heard talk around the Capitol that you are the best-looking tribute in the bunch!" Caesar told him, pretending to be very discreet. The audience applauded at this, and many of the younger girls in the crowd shouted their agreement.

I blushed as I told Evangelos, "Show the crowd."

Glenn seemed slightly taken aback by this. "Wow, that's…very flattering," he said nervously, reaching to smooth his hair.

Caesar smiled. "Did you ever think you could be a fan favorite?"

Glenn pondered this for a moment. "Honestly, no. I never did. The girls from 6 don't really pay attention to me. I'm kind of considered a nerd." He brightened up a bit. "Hey, if I win, maybe I'll just stay here."

"A fine idea indeed!" Caesar said as the audience applauded.

After the clapping died down, Caesar asked another question.

"So what will be your strategy? Obviously, you're a very bright young man. Will you flee? Or fight?"

Glenn seemed slightly more comfortable now. "That all depends on the arena, and the people I'm fighting. And if, by some miracle, I get my hands on a weapon of some kind."

"Well your training score was actually quite good, especially for a tribute from a mid-District such as 6," Caesar said. I brightened at this statement. Yes, it was a pretty good score. He earned it. Right?

I was considering this as Caesar was asking, "Do you think you pose a threat in the arena?"

"I'm not sure yet. I guess I could, if I'm as popular as you say I am." At this statement, he received reassuring screams from his fans. "But I guess we'll see."

Caesar nodded. "Well we're almost out of time here. But one final question. What's your motivation to win this? What gives you the will to become the victor?"

Blaine laughed and nudged me jokingly. "Yeah, because he'll win this, right?"

I laughed nervously, going along with it. "Yeah, right."

Glenn thought before responding. "I guess… I guess just the glory of it. The pride that comes with it. And, of course, a better life for my family." He paused momentarily before smiling sarcastically. "And it means I don't die."

That last statement seemed to throw Caesar a bit, but he didn't miss a beat. "That's a fine point." There was scattered applause from the audience.

"Good luck." Caesar said as he shook Glenn's hand. Glenn nodded a thank you.

"Ladies and gentleman, Glenn from District 6!"


	9. Handling Nerves (& a Look at the Arena)

I couldn't sleep the night before the Games. I tossed and turned for hours before finally giving up on sleep for the night.

I snuck down to the Control Room around 2 am and just sat there. I looked around. Soon, this room would be filled with Gamemakers and tech operators. And I would be in charge.

I got up and turned on the hologram projection of my arena. It had taken weeks to create, weeks filled with sleepless nights and headaches, and months to build, stressful, tiring months, but it was well worth it.

The circular arena had been divided into four equal wedges- each one represented a season. A section filled with poisonous flowers, hills, and rivers for spring, tall trees steadily losing their leaves for fall, pine trees, caves, and snow-covered ground for winter, and finally summer, a huge, open field with nothing but the Cornucopia.

Every few days would bring a new season. And each new season becomes more extreme. It would start mild with spring, then get chilly with fall; then the scalding hot of summer and the freezing temperatures of winter.

Whatever season the arena is changed into, mutts are released in that wedge. Not life threatening mutts- not at first- but enough to do some damage and scare the tributes. It would also make it difficult to have one main base. Fire would also divide the wedges during the transformation, trapping the tributes wherever they are.

But my favorite part of the arena by far was what was waiting for the final battle. The entire arena would go almost empty. There would be a whirlwind of snow, leaves, flowers, and heat to motivate the tributes. It would be awesome.

I was just sitting back down after turning my hologram off when I heard the door open. My stomach dropped as I wondered if I was allowed in here at this time. I calmed down when I saw it was Blaine.

"Gosh, you scared me," I giggled. He smiled.

"Sorry. What're you doing down here? Couldn't sleep?"

I nodded.

"The night before is always sleepless," he assured me. "Are you excited or nervous?"

"Both," I smiled sheepishly.

"Don't be nervous. The 42nd Hunger Games are going to be awesome."

"I know," I smiled wider. "After all, I'm Head Gamemaker."

Blaine laughed. "Oh yeah, that's right. I'd almost forgotten."

We stood in silence for a few moments before I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Thanks for everything Blaine," I said seriously.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's my job, remember?" he said as he hugged me back.

"No, I don't just mean for these Games. I mean for everything, even from way back in school when we studied together and you always took me out on the town the day after a test. And for helping me get my hands on tapes of past Games. And keeping Scot in line, because I know he doesn't like me. And…just…everything."

He seemed taken aback by this, but he hugged me back. "Don't mention it. That's what Assistant Gamemakers do." He paused. "That's what best friends do."

We kept hugging for another minute before I pulled away. Blaine's eyes were shimmering and his face was slightly flushed.

"Leta…" he started.

"What?" I asked.

He paused. "Nothing. Just…I'm really excited for these Games. Let's do it."

I smiled wider than I thought my cheeks could stretch and my stomach jumped with excitement.

Let the Games begin.


	10. All He Needed

I wasn't able to fall asleep again that night, and Blaine had stayed with me down in the Control Room. At 6:00, he sent me back up to get ready for the big day.

I got dressed in a brightly colored pleated skirt and matching collar shirt, the most stylist ensemble in Capitol attire. I puffed up the shoulders on my shirt and buttoned it all the way to the top. I pulled my hair into two low buns and colored my lips to match my skirt and put jewels on my eyelashes. My favorite pink buckle-up boots extended almost to my knee and after dabbing rose oil on my wrists, I was ready. Sure, no one was going to see me, but it was important to me to look god today.

At 7:00 sharp, an Avox brought me breakfast, and by 8:00, I was in the Control Room, nerves finally under control. I pressed a small bud in my ear, and had Scot test it to make sure I could hear.

10 minutes later, we got final word that the arena was ready and that the tributes were on their way.

I allowed myself a moment to think about Glenn. Who was he beside? What was he wearing? Did he have a strategy? Was he scared?

Blaine's voice, as it always seemed to, broke my thoughts.

"Wow. You look…incredible."

I blushed. "Thanks. Just thought…should try to look good for my first day. First real day."

"Well, you do," he smiled, a real Blaine smile.

He ran his fingers through his hair and reached out his hand to me. "Weapons are in place, Cornucopia's filled, the Feast is ready for whenever you want it…wanna see your arena?"

I lit up, nodding madly. I grabbed his hand and he led me to my place. The entire arena stood before me as a hologram, finalized.

I squeezed Blaine's hand. "This is really it." I couldn't take my eyes off the hologram.

A voice squeaked in my ear, saying the tributes were in their changing rooms and in half an hour, they would ascend to the arena.

"You're on, Head Gamemaker. Good luck," Blaine whispered, dropping my hand and leaving me to my post.

I took a deep breath. "All right!" I yelled. My voice rang through the room, silencing everyone instantly. They turned towards me, looking expectant.

"They're changing now. 30 minutes to show time!" Everyone nodded simultaneously.

"Miss," Evangelos summoned me. He gestured towards a screen. "Panem."

The screen he pointed to showed The Square, a courtyard in the middle of the Capitol. There were huge screens that would play the Games continuously so every Capitol citizen could enjoy them.

My mouth dropped when I saw all the people. The crowd was bigger than I'd ever seen. Tons of teenagers, all grouped together, stood cheering out "Hunger! Hunger!" Those who'd caught sight of the camera waved and blew kisses.

"They're all for you. For your Games," Evangelos smiled.

The shot widened to show one of the huge screens, replaying training scores and betting odds.

"Most people have money on the pair from District 2, the girl from 11, and the boy from 7," he told me.

I nodded. "Logical choices."

I watched the crowd for a few minutes longer before returning to my post. I surveyed the Control Room: tons of Gamemakers, in white coats and slacks with a rainbow of hair colors, huge screens lining the walls, the huge hologram in the center. I folded my hands triumphantly. All this at my disposal. I could do anything I wanted. I could make trees grow, I could knock them down. I could make it snow one day and sunny the next. I could kill a tribute just to shake things up. I could…

My eyes grew wide with the realization: I could save a tribute as easily as I could kill one. I could save Glenn. He could win. All he needed…was me.

I shook my head violently. No. A Head Gamemaker has to be impartial. If only for his or her first year. You only use your power to kill when necessary: when things get boring or things need a little shake-up. Never just because you can.

"But this is different. You love him," the other side of me kept saying. "Plus, you'll never get caught." But if I did…

I sighed. Even if he did win, what could I do then? Move to District 6? No way. He'd be here once a year for the Games, as a mentor. That's something, I guess. Enough, at least, for me to decide to just stay out of it until I had more time to think. I was confident he could at least make it part way on his own.

I shook my head again. Now was not the time to have a moral conflict.

I turned my attention to another screen in the Control Room, where all 24 changing rooms were live.

"Can you send the 15 minute warning please?"

A red-headed Gamemaker flipped a switch and a female voice rang through the changing rooms. "15 minutes."

I watched the tributes carefully. The girl from 2 was jumping up and down, keeping her body moving. The boy from 12 was repeatedly practicing his knife-throwing motion. The girl from 8 was broken down in tears, barely able to catch her breath.

My eyes finally landed on Glenn. He was picking at a plate heaping of beef stew, bouncing his leg nervously. His eyes were dating around nervously as they so often did. His stylist was beside him, trying to coax him into eating.

I sighed. He still looked so handsome, in the dark red jacket and dull orange pants, perfect for hiding in the fall sector of the arena. 5 other tributes were dressed identically.

Of the remaining 18, 6 were dressed in white for winter, 6 sported bright pinks and pale yellows for spring, and 6 had on bright green that matched the summer grass perfectly.

"5 minutes," rang out the voice again. I went back to my Head Gamemaker place.

"5 minutes! Take your places, we're almost to the gong!" I yelled.

For about 3 minutes, the room was a blur of white as everyone took their places. Blaine gave me a thumbs up from behind the hologram.

"20 seconds," the voice boomed through the changing rooms. The tributes stepped inside their tubes, and 20 seconds later were being transported up to their platforms. The one minute countdown began.

The tributes flipped their heads around, taking in their surroundings. Some shaded their eyes from the sun. Many eyed the Cornucopia.

30 seconds to the gong.

I glanced at the shot of Panem. Everyone was going wild.

Back to the tributes.

10 seconds.

I saw Glenn take a deep breath.

"You got this," I whispered. "Win it for me."


	11. Taking My Breath Away

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

Almost every person sprinted for their weapon of choice. The First Fight always takes my breath away.

Duff from District 2 was the first to the weapons, followed closely by the girls from 2 and 4, Sage and Willow. Willow grabbed a sword and had the next tribute within her reach, the boy from 5, decapitated in a matter of seconds. Sage had an arrow through the girl from 12 not long after.

Duff had wrestled the boy from 9 to the ground and was hacking his chest to bits. Conifer from District 7 fought with the boy from 1 over an ax. Conifer kicked him in the knee, taking control of the ax. It had killed the boy from 1 moments later.

Soon, the only living tributes remaining at the Cornucopia were the Primary Alliance. They always take control. 5 of the 6 remained, and none of them had major injuries.

They conversed for a few moments then ran off in different directions, weapons in hand.

"It seems to have quieted down, miss," one of the GMs told me.

"Ok, go ahead with the cannons. How many are left?"

Jennipher handed me a sheet.

"13. But almost half are injured."

I scanned the list of remaining tributes. Glenn was alive, but not in the best condition. I turned my attention back to the screen. Each tribute had a camera on him or her at all times, sometimes there were 2 or 3.

"Ok, for the next few hours, let's just alternate between everyone. Show the Primaries predominantly, but we need to show who else is alive."

Jenn nodded and Luna began flipping switches.

I knew the Control Room wouldn't have to interfere with anything major in the next few days; the tributes would take care of it on their own.

The next few hours were Primary hunting. No one had died since the First Fight. Every so often, we switched to someone else for a few minutes, just to show Panem who was left and how they were doing.

Phoebe from District 3 was probably in the worst condition. She had lost 2 of her fingers and her face was completely swollen and bruised from a brawl with the girl from 11. Phoebe was eventually able to escape and run, and the girl from 11 was killed moments later.

Graham from District 10 had a gash on his head he couldn't get to stop bleeding. But he had a spear and some food, so his venture to the Cornucopia had paid off well.

Lana from District 5 had run away immediately, without giving the Cornucopia or any other tribute a second glance. Kameron from District 12 was in a similar situation, but he had stopped to grab some plastic in front of his platform. Diesa from District 6 had managed to get a small backpack, but twisted her ankle during her escape from the First Fight.

Glenn had fought momentarily with Tinker from District 3 before escaping and had a black eye and broken nose as a result. His knees and elbows had been skinned after he tripped in the fall sector. I smiled. At least he knew where to go to be well camouflaged. And he was still cute, even with a bruised cheekbone and bloody nose.

That night, Duff, Brian from District 4, and Deliah met back in the summer sector. Duff was elected to stay up and keep watch, and the other two fell asleep.

"Switch to Conifer please," I told Evangelos.

About ten minutes passed before Conifer came across Kameron in the spring sector, sleeping in a tree.

"This is going to be good," I said, happy for another kill.

Conifer smirked and began to chop down the tree with his ax. The vibrations woke Kameron and he screamed. I watched his face as he went through his options and realized he was trapped. He must have decided fleeing was his best option, and he jumped from the tree. He started to run and Conifer took off after him.

"Let's make it rain," I smiled.

A Gamemaker with bright yellow hair tied back in a bow hit some buttons and dragged a raincloud towards the fight.

Conifer was right on Kameron's tail by now. Thunder boomed. Rain poured down, drenching them both. Conifer seemed unphased, but it clearly took Kameron by surprise, giving Conifer the time he needed to catch up.

In a second, Conifer was on him. Kameron was putting up a fight, but Conifer was clearly stronger.

One solid swing at Kameron's chest with the ax and he was dead.

I glanced at the screen and saw his tracker go red, signaling his death.

"Cannon," I heard someone say.

I smiled again. Only one day in, and we were half way through our tributes.


	12. The Fight of the Games

The Games are a continuous thing, so we had to keep up with footage of the tributes.

We showed another half hour of Primary hunting. None of them were having much luck. Sage and Willow had met up to hunt together and were getting very frustrated at their lack of kills thus far.

"I think…" I started, for the first time since the gong unsure, "that's enough action for a while. Let's just keep them all apart for a while. Except alliances."

I glanced at Blaine for approval. He smiled and nodded.

I left the Head Gamemaker chair to Wylie and went over to Blaine, who was watching on a TV, exactly what Panem was seeing.

"Well…?" I asked him with a nervous smile.

"Fantastic. Absolutely awesome," he said. "The arena is gorgeous and it translates onto a TV really well."

He paused, then started slowly. "The only thing…I understand the concept of a 'fan favorite,' but for someone who hasn't done anything except get a bloody nose, Glenn is getting a lot of screen time."

My stomach dropped. Oops.

"Ok. I'll cut back in the next few days."

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he just smiled and gave a thumbs up.

We sat there for a few moments before I finally asked "So who do you think will be the next to go?"

"Phoebe. She's just in bad shape. I don't think she'll last much longer. I'd put good money on her dying within 48 hours if I was allowed to bet. You?"

"Same. Phoebe or Graham."

I watched the screen a few minutes longer. Duff had fallen asleep and Deliah was awake to keep watch. She was picking through the Cornucopia and piling what she found outside. A few small knives, food, water jugs. Just occupying herself to stay awake.

"Remember ten years ago when the Primaries didn't leave someone awake to keep watch and the alliance of the girls from 8 and 3 took all their supplies and killed half of them?" I asked.

Blaine laughed. "Oh gosh, yes. That was one of the best moments ever. I was watching in the Square with a huge crowd. You should have seen their faces as they lost their bets with those deaths!"

"And 2 days later, the girl from 3 killed the girl from 8 and ended up winning!"

We laughed. District 3 hadn't won since.

"Hey, you better get some sleep. It's been a big day," Blaine said.

"Are you sure? Maybe I should stay…"

"No. Nothing else important is going to happen tonight. If you wait any longer, you'll miss the morning's action."

"Fine," I pretended to pout. "See you in the morning."

I went back upstairs, but ended up just turning on my TV and watching. Blaine was right, everyone was asleep and there would be no action until morning.

I got about 5 hours of on-and-off sleep before giving up and returning to the Control Room. Etta handed me a stack of papers summarizing the night. Nothing had happened, and nothing happened for about 2 hours after I woke up.

Around 9 am, the Willow tripped over a root in the spring sector. She jumped back on her feet and shoved Sage. "What the heck? Not funny."

Sage looked dumbfounded. "What are you talking about? And don't shove me," she said, shoving Willow back.

"I'm talking about how you just tripped me." Willow shoved Sage again.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it'd be a shame if you fell again. Oops," Sage said as she pushed Willow down. Hard.

This got Willow's blood boiling. "You know what wouldn't be a shame? If I killed you right here, right now."

"Sure. As long as you don't…trip."

This was the breaking point for Willow. I watched intently. This was the best fight yet!

Willow was on Sage in a flash, but Sage was ready for her. Both girls had dropped their main weapons during the shoving match, so this was a test of hand-to-hand combat and strength.

A live shot of the Square showed the audience had divided into two parts, half cheering for Willow, half cheering for Sage. I turned back to the fight. This was too good to miss.

Sage had pinned Willow down, but Willow used her knees to throw her off.

Sage landed with a thud, the wind knocked out of her. She moaned quietly, giving Willow the time to kick her side and then body-slam her.

Willow was beating Sage to a pulp, it was fantastic! Her face was bloody and bruised, but she still had fight left.

Sage screamed and launched Willow backwards, kneeing her stomach on the way. Sage grabbed in her jacket for the one small knife she had and pinned Willow down.

Willow screamed and tried to fight back, but Sage quickly silenced her with a hard punch to the mouth. Blood flew from Willow's face, and some of her teeth went flying.

The crowd in the Square cringed, loving it.

Sage held the knife menacingly. She sliced Willow's neck.

"So sorry you tripped," she said, almost sweetly.

The crowd in the Square went wild.

With a snarl of anger and revenge, Sage plunged her knife into Willow's heart.

At that moment, the yells of the crowd were deafening. People pumped their fists in the air; others threw their arms up in exasperation. This would be the fight of the Games!

Willow's tracker went red. "Fire the cannon!" I yelled triumphantly. I was enjoying this just as much as the rest of Panem.

The cannon fired, working up the crowd even more. People toasted Sage and her cunningness, others toasted Willow's bravery.

Blaine ran up and hugged me from behind. "That was insane!" he said. "Definitely one of the best fights ever!"

I laughed. "Agreed!"

"Enjoy this moment, it may be the best fight you ever get as a Head Gamemaker," Blaine told me.

"Maybe I should just quit now," I said dramatically. Blaine laughed and punched my shoulder. He walked back to his seat, leaving me alone.

* * *

_**A/N- Thanks for reading and reviewing! I love all your comments! I know this was a pretty Glenn-less chapter, but he WILL be back next chapter. And he might be in some trouble that only Leta can save him from... ;)**_


	13. Danger

The entire Control Room was still buzzing, and I can't say I blame them. But we had a job, and we needed to stay focused.

"Alright," I yelled out. "Let's just keep Sage on screen. She won that fight, but she got beat up pretty bad. Panem will want to know if she makes it, and if she does, what she'll do."

At the moment, she was at a lake, washing her face and weapons.

"Ma'am," a Gamemaker called me over. "Her mentor has authorized medicine to go to her ASAP."

"Send it. We need her back on her feet as soon as we can."

A silver parachute was almost immediately by her side. She opened the container hungrily. She smeared the medicine, meant to get her swelling down and stop her bleeding, on her face. She then climbed a tree as high as her tall, muscular stature would allow, and quickly fell asleep.

"Show the other Primaries," I groaned. That was painfully anti-climactic. "And at noon, kick up the wind and cool it down. It's time for fall."

I sulked over to Blaine. "That got very boring very fast," I grumped.

"Hey, that was a huge fight. People will still be reeling. It's probably best to keep the action minimal until everyone calms down."

"Alright. Man, _I'm_ still shocked from that fight. It was amazing."

"I know! I didn't see it coming at all!" Blaine lit up. "You will go down in history for that fight."

I glanced at the clock. An hour until the first change of seasons.

"Ready for fall?" I asked.

"For sure. Poor Glenn's gonna get destroyed by those leaf mutts you thought up." He shook his head, smiling.

Oh crap. I forgot about that.

"Maybe…maybe randomly released mutts aren't such a good idea. Maybe we shouldn't do that at first. Especially with that fight…" I said. Being hurt by mutts wasn't what I had planned for Glenn's time in the arena.

"Are you kidding? It's genius! That's the reason you're in charge. Plus, we spent forever working on those, President Snow would not be happy if we just scrapped them."

Shoot. In that case, I had to drive Glenn out of there, and I had to do it fast.

"Ok. Tell me about these mutts. I never got to see a finished one."

"Well," Blaine called up a hologram. "They look like ordinary leaves. They'll fall just like every other leaf in the arena. They're about six inches, but when they latch onto you, you can't get rid of them without pulling off your skin with it."  
He called up another hologram. "They'll start to fall in about an hour, exclusively from the big tree in the middle…the tree Glenn has decided to call home." Blaine smirked. "It's gonna be awesome!"

Ok, that wasn't too bad then. I just had to get him away from the tree. But how?

Ok…he's smart, but not terribly strong. He'd flee if he thought someone was after him. But did I want to put him in that danger? I could just drive him away using a natural force, but that would make the mutts useless.

I looked at the trackers. There were only two others in the fall sector. Conifer, who Glenn wouldn't have a chance against, and…Phoebe! It was too perfect. If I could push Phoebe towards the tree and Glenn away, everyone wins! Except Phoebe, but she's dead anyways.

But how could I get her to mobilize? I started to get nervous. I had to think quickly.

Flood? No, there's no water. Avalanche? No, it's not cold enough to sustain it. Fire? Fire! Of course. It's the oldest trick in the book. And it could mobilize Glenn, too, so he could escape.

"Hey, could I get some fire after Phoebe?" I called out to the Gamemakers on the floor.

"Sure, miss. How drastic?"

"Not very, just push her towards the mutt tree."

The Gamemaker I was talking to smiled. "Of course, why didn't anyone else think of that?" She turned red. "Well, obviously because you're the Head Gamemaker. Right. Fire. Right away miss."

"Show Phoebe on the screen. She's about to get burned."

Immediately, her bruised, bloody, and swollen face filled the screen. About five minutes later, fire loomed behind her. She froze in place as the crackling grew louder. She slowly turned around and eyed her newest enemy.

She was slow to begin running, but soon she was sprinting towards the tree. She was about a quarter of a mile away, but the seasons would change in about ten minutes. I smiled. Perfect. Glenn could get well away from danger and Phoebe would run right into it.

I watched Glenn's screen. He was barely awake, but he seemed to sense the danger. He turned around and saw the flames; though at the moment they were still a safe distance away from him. His eyes grew wide. He stumbled as he climbed down and started to run.

I had to time this perfectly. Glenn had to be far enough away to be out of danger, but Phoebe couldn't run past the tree.

About a minute later, I decided it was time.

"Cut the fire! She's at the tree."

An older Gamemaker stopped the fire in an instant, but he gave me a confused look. "Miss…Glenn was already in the tree…"

"Well, yes, but…" I racked my brain for an explanation. Luckily, the clock struck noon, saving me.

Wind blew through the arena. Threes rustled, leaves fell. Fire sprung up along the borders of the sectors, trapping tributes in whatever season they were in.

Luckily, Glenn had escaped to the spring sector and was zipping his jacket all the way up to his neck. My heart ached to be there, to protect him, to have his arms wrapped around me as we kept each other warm…

A scream erupted from the arena. Phoebe was on the screen, picked at a mutant leaf that had landed on her cheek. She had obviously discovered its true purpose, and was running away from the tree, dodging leaves with as much agility as she was able. Blood streamed from her face, and tears ran down her cheeks. Another leaf landed on her, this one on her hand. She didn't even try to pull it off; she just kept moving.

Suddenly she stopped short as she almost tripped over a sleeping Conifer. She seemed on the verge of a breakdown. She held her hand over her mouth to silence her sobs and heavy breathing.

She quietly stepped around him, tip-toing for about a quarter of a mile before finally collapsing, semi-concealed by a pile of leaves. She heaved with sobs, rocking back and forth, a crazed look in her eyes. She remained on screen for another few minutes before she finally calmed down.

I gave a small sigh of relief. The mutts hadn't been wasted, the change of season was going smoothly, and Glenn was safe. For now.


	14. Inner Battles

Now that Phoebe was stationary, we needed something new to show Panem.

"Can we show Sage please? Maybe she'll be ready to hunt soon." A quick shot of her still sleeping was enough to destroy that hope.

"Ok, let's show some non-Primaries. Tinker, Graham, Lana, Diesa, and Glenn."

The Gamemakers began switching back and forth, and Holland handed me a sheet of paper. "The change is officially complete and successful, miss. Everyone has been affected, and Deliah, Brian, and Duff are the only ones with a sleeping bag. Conifer has an authorized sponsor gift of some food his mentor would like sent out now."

"Even if it wakes him up?" I asked.

Holland nodded. "Yes. He's skilled in the art of killing, but has trouble finding resources."

"Yes, I've noticed that. Send it out."

I turned back to the screens. Lana had so far had the least action. She was the only one to run from the First Fight without grabbing anything, but she wasn't injured. I watched her as she did virtually nothing. She sat in a small cave in the winter section (despite her summer attire), just staring into space.

I went over to talk to Blaine again.

"I've always found it cowardly," I said as I pulled up a chair, "to run from the Cornucopia without any attempt to grab anything. It makes for a boring tribute."

Blaine smirked. "You want to do something to her?"

I shook my head. "No, not yet. This has been nonstop action so far, let's give them another few days before really getting into it."

Blaine nodded. "So we'll just leave them along for fall. Let them be."

"Yeah. Sage will recover and Conifer will get some food. Then the action will start up again on its own."

We kept watching. Graham was searching for water and hunting. Diesa was perched on a low tree branch, delusional that she could kill someone with the poorly constructed sling shot she made. Tinker was eyeing the Cornucopia, probably trying to figure out a way to get some supplies.

"Or kill the Primaries," I said under my breath.

"What?" Blaine asked.

"Nothing, just thinking out loud."

"Well, what are you thinking about? C'mon, you can tell me." Blaine looked at me intently.

"Just wondering what Tinker's up to. Whether he's trying to get some kills or supplies. Or both."

Blaine looked at the tracker screen. "His heart rate is normal, so he's not nervous. So probably just supplies. He could be just observing, too. Trying to figure out their strategy, which thus far has been to sit around and look menacing."

He kept his eyes on the trackers. "Phoebe's heart rate, however, is obnoxiously fast, and it's been hours since her breakdown. The emotional strife she's having, plus the fact that it'd be working overtime anyways to compensate for her injuries does not make for a good situation."

"How long do you think she has?"

Blaine thought for a minute. "Considering that she's sponsorless and has no way of getting any food or water in her condition…24 hours. Tops."

"Dozens of people are betting she'll be the next to die Some newer betters are thinking she'll pull through," I told him. "As if."

The rest of the evening was uneventful. Sage woke up and stretched her sore muscles. Conifer feasted on his sponsors' gifts, and the Primaries strategized, still with no kills since to first day.

Willow's face was sent to the Dome to let everyone know she had fallen.

Right before I went to bed, I had them show Glenn on screen. He was still hiding out in the spring sector, poorly cleaning a rabbit he had managed to trap. His eye was still swollen, but he looked stronger than he had before.

"See? He caught something," I teased Blaine. He rolled his eyes.

I left him to his post and decided to turn in for the night. Wylie was at the Head Gamemaker post.

"Is Glenn still a fan favorite?" I asked Wylie.

"His popularity has dropped, mostly due to his lack of performance, but overall yes, he still has the support of his original fans. Mostly teenage girls with the delusion that if he wins, they can marry him," he laughed. I felt my cheeks flush.

"Ok then, play him up for about half an hour, make sure to show Phoebe occasionally, use your best judgment. The fight this morning and the fire this afternoon will hold people over for the night." I yawned.

I went up to my room feeling more tired than I had in a year, but as soon as I climbed into bed, I was wide awake.

I tossed and turned, replaying the fire in my head. The look that Gamemaker gave me when he said Glenn was in the tree, the roar of flames, and Glenn's quick but clumsy escape all haunted me. Was it right for me to save him from those mutts?

Of course it was…I'm in charge, these are my Games, and I can do what I want. Tons of tributes have fallen because of the Control Room, so what's wrong with saving one?

But…my job was to create a good show, separate from emotions. Just entertain Panem. They love these Games, everyone looks forward to them every year. I couldn't screw that up.

But, I thought, if I entertain everyone while saving Glenn at the same time, there's no harm, right?...

My eyes drooped, my conscience clear. No harm…


	15. If Only

The next day was Day 3. The theme was simple: just leave them all alone.

The morning was uneventful. By the afternoon, the three left in the Primary Alliance were out hunting, leaving most of their supplies vulnerable inside the Cornucopia.

I threw up my hands. "Really? Why not just have a Primary Supplies Give-Away?!"

I watched as Tinker sprinted towards the Cornucopia. He slowly walked around it, taking in everything.

"Can we keep Tinker away please?"

A Gamemaker with blue hair and bright pink lips smiled. "Sure, miss." She pressed a few buttons and a huge door whooshed silently into place, sealing the mouth of the Cornucopia.

Everyone watching in the Square gasped. No one could keep their eyes off of Tinker. Everyone was on the edge of their seats wondering what he would do, including the entire Control Room.

The seconds ticked by as he neared the mouth. He finally darted around the side, obviously expecting to be home free.

When he saw that he had been blocked off, he froze. For a moment, everything seemed to stop. He just stared for several seconds. Then, out of nowhere, he punched the door, filled with rage. His teeth were gritted as he punched the door again, this time leaving a small dent. He stomped his feet and pulled at his hair.

Everyone watching, myself included, was taken aback. Quiet, methodical Tinker, just exploded more than I think I've ever seen a tribute explode.

He pried at the door, trying to open it. His adrenaline was pumping, and a glance at his tracker showed that his heart rate was way up. When he realized his attempts were futile, he slammed against the door and sank down.

"Zoom in on him. Is he crying?" I said, moving closer to a screen.

No, he wasn't. Just angry.

He slowly got up and brushed himself off, rattling off every curse word he could think of. He went back to his camp and packed it up. It wasn't much, just what he had in a backpack, but he was moving with such anger that it took him 20 minutes.

He slung the backpack over his shoulder and took off towards the sectors away from the field.

"Someone's gonna die today," he muttered. "And it ain't gonna be Tinker."

The camera followed him as he trekked into the winter sector.

The Control Room was almost silent. My mouth hung open.

"Well…I guess we can just follow Tinker for the night."

Gamemakers silently pressed the necessary buttons and Tinker appeared on the screens at various angles.

Etta handed me a paper.

"Sponsors," she said quietly. "For Tinker."

My mouth dropped once again at the list. He had anything from food to water to matches to a blanket.

"Um…ok. All now?"

Etta nodded. "Well…when he's calmed down a bit. In like…" She studied his screens. "…an hour."

I smiled and nodded. "Ok. Thanks."

She nodded at me and started to walk away.

"Etta," I called after her. She turned. "You're gonna make a good Head Gamemaker someday."

She smiled and blushed. "Th…thanks, miss." She straightened her shoulders and walked away with a slight bounce of confidence in her step.

"Aren't you so nice?" Blaine said, walking up to me from behind.

"Yes, I am. Where have you been?"

"Sleeping. Today was supposed to be minimal action."

I grinned. "You missed the best freak out ever."

I dragged him over to Scot. "Can you please replay Tinker's meltdown for Blaine?"

"Tinker? No way…"

Blaine watched, captivated. "Oh my gosh. What…what happened?" he asked.

"Tinker just broke. You should see the sponsors it got him." I raised my eyebrows. "So yeah…that happened. And Sage just started back out hunting again."

Blain smiled. "At least _that_ makes sense."

I laughed. "Yeah, it does. I thought she'd never leave that tree. I almost had to burn it down."

Etta ran up to us then, breathless. "Mr. Trehold, they need you in the production room," she smiled at him sweetly, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Sure. See ya Leta."

"Bye."

I went back to the screens that displayed everyone. Phoebe was bleeding badly from her cheek again and could barely sit up. Lana had moved caves, but still had no food. Graham was asleep and most of the rest were out hunting.

Glenn was roaming the spring sector, climbing trees and taking short naps. His hair had grown since the first reaping, and it now hit his eyelashes. His eyes were constantly darting around and almost never focused on a single object.

"Please stop being nervous, just calm down," I muttered under my breath. He had to make his presence more threatening or he would never calm down enough to hunt.

I knew his mentor had to split her time between Glenn and Diesa since District 6 only had one living victor…maybe I needed to convince her to focus her energy on Glenn. _He needs food_, I thought. _Food and motivation_.

If only I could somehow communicate with him. If only I could tell him that it would be ok, that I was here for him, and that I cared for him…

I held my head in my hands. This was too complicated. "Can't I just save him now?" I groaned. No, I couldn't. It was killing me. And at that moment I couldn't bear to watch him anymore.


	16. A Death, a Crush, and a Pyromaniac

To take my mind off of Glenn, I turned my attention to our Primary clan. They were all split up searching for kills. They hadn't made any since the First Fight, and they were steadily losing sponsors.

Brian had been shaken up by losing Willow, and all three Primaries decided that they had to find and kill Sage before she got to them.

"Miss," Etta tapped my shoulder.

She pointed to the tracker screen. Phoebe's heart rate was literally off the chart.

"Phoebe on screen. Now, please." I snapped my fingers. Two seconds later, Phoebe was on display for Panem to see.

She had pulled clumps of her hair out and had bruises from thrashing around in her insanity. Now, she was passed out, still bleeding from her cheek.

In an instant, her body convulsed, blood poured out of her mouth, and her tracker turned red.

"Cannon," I heard from somewhere in the Control Room.

"And there's the fall of Phoebe," I whispered.

Etta nodded. "Cool way to go out though. Never seen something like that," she said.

"District 5 boy, 12th Annual Hunger Games," Blaine's voice said from behind us. We turned around to face him.

Etta turned red. "Oh," she squeaked. "Wow, you know everything."

Blaine chuckled. "Not everything. Not quite." He winked at her.

She smiled and tucked a piece of her bright red hair behind her ear. "Well you sure are smart," she said, looking down at the ground.

"It's my job," he smiled. "Can I talk to Leta for a sec?"

At this point, her face matched her hair. "Yes, of course. I'll just go." She turned and walked away briskly.

I pinched Blaine's cheek. "Aw, she likes you," I teased.

He shook his head and blushed. "No, she's just nervous. But that's not the point. When would you like summer?"

"Day after tomorrow. I want to see the heat. I want the heat to break them down. I want another good fight."

Blaine nodded. "Ok."

"And here's my idea for this…if we have the Feast right as the seasons change, everyone would be trapped in the summer sector at the Cornucopia."

Blaine smiled. "Perfect. So Feast day after tomorrow?"

"Yes sir," I told him. "So we're guaranteed a good fight then."

"Awesome. Can't wait," he said.

Then he furrowed his brow and made the face he gets when he's confused and thinking. "What's Tinker up to?"

I turned to face the screen Blaine was looking at. Tinker was in the fall sector, looking around for something that appeared to be very specific.

"Keep Tinker on screen. I'm sure everyone's just as confused and curious as we are."

He was collecting acorns that had fallen, leaves, sticks, twigs, and bark. He searched for about half an hour before going back to the camp he made after receiving his sponsor gifts. He started making something.

"What the heck is he making?" I thought out loud.

"Looks like a launcher of some kind," Blaine said.

As we continued watching, it turned out to be a slingshot of sorts. Blaine laughed.

"Is he crazed enough to think he can kill someone by shooting an acorn at them?"

"No way, he's too smart for that… it must have something to do with the leaves he collected."

Tinker set down his sling shot and started wrapping acorns in the leaves. He wrapped about a dozen before taking one over near a lake.

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a match. He lit the match and held it to the wrapped acorn. It burst into high, hot flames. Tinker laughed and launched it into the lake, extinguishing the flames when it hit the water.

Blaine and I realized what was going on at the same time

"He's a pyromaniac," I said quietly.

"He's gonna set someone of fire. Maybe more than one," Blaine agreed.

"It's genius. Insanely, manically genius," I said, laughing slightly.

"Will it actually work? Won't the slingshot burn up?"

As if hearing us, Tinker dipped his slingshot in the lake, drenching it, with a smug, satisfied look on his face.

"Oh," Blaine muttered.

"We'll see at the Feast soon enough. Something tells me he won't miss that," I grinned.

That night, Phoebe's face was sent up to the Dome. No one seemed really affected by it.

"Some people made some money on that one. And a few lost a lot more," Wylie told me that night. He looked confused. "Miss, why would people bet in her favor when she's in such bad shape?"

I smiled. Every Potential Gamemaker had asked that at some point, myself included.

"Well," I started, "some like the thrill of the chances. But most people make those kinds of unpopular bets simply because they're unpopular."

Wylie still looked confused.

"If she had pulled through, for example, those few people would have made insane amounts because there were only a few to win that bet."

He nodded, his face lighting up with realization. "Oh. Ok. I understand now. Thank you, Miss."

"Hey, it's my job," I told him.

"Stealing my line?" Blaine asked as he approached me.

I smiled. "Yep. I think I'll steal your hairstyle next," I pondered, ruffling his hair.

He laughed and smoothed it down. "You going up now?"

"Yeah. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, sleep well," Blaine said, waving at me.

When I got up to my room, I fell asleep almost instantly. When I woke up, it was past 9:00.

I scrambled out of bed and sprinted to the Control Room. How had I slept so late?

Etta and Blaine were sitting at the Head Gamemaker post. He was making dramatic hand gestures and she was laughing at whatever he was saying.

I stood for a moment, confused. Did that make me…jealous? No. I smiled to myself. Not a chance. Etta had a crush. He was seven years older. It was cute. And if he did like her back, so what? When Glenn comes back…

Glenn! I hadn't checked on him in hours.

His tracker?...normal.

His location?...unchanged.

Anyone nearby?...Duff.


	17. We Can Do This

Duff! What? No! It couldn't be…

Glenn would lose in two seconds if he had to fight Duff. There would be no contest. I had to get Duff out of there. I couldn't use fire again, people would catch on to what I was doing.

I sat down at a computer. No one could know I was meddling in the Arena at this point. I had said that I would stay out of it, and I would be questioned if I changed my mind.

I knew Duff wasn't the brightest star in the sky. And his tracker showed that his heart rate was slow- he was tired. His brain was probably foggy. I just needed to distract him enough that Glenn would be safe. But what could I do?

I could distort the weather; I could create a thunderstorm to act as a barrier between Glenn and Duff, but that would be an obvious change in the Arena that I would have to explain.

I could play with their perception of time; I could make the arena dark enough that Duff would believe it was nighttime and he had to go back to the Cornucopia. But that presented the same problem.

No, I needed something that no one would notice but Duff- something that could be attributed to natural causes within the arena. Nature. Like the…animals?

Was it really that easy? Was Duff tired enough to spring to action at the sound of an animal that was roaming around in the spring sector? I decided it was worth a shot.

I did a quick survey of the current distance between Glenn and Duff and decided how far away Duff needed to get before I would feel confident that Glenn was safe. Then, by discreetly pushing a few buttons and with a slight turn of a knob, I had a deer walking through the spring sector, within Duff's earshot, but away from Glenn.

I held my breath. Would he fall for it?

At the sound of something walking, Duff froze. He listened for a few moments, then hesitated.

Finally, he took off towards the sound. Away from Glenn.

I had the deer going fast enough to evade Duff for a few hundred meters, before Duff would either give up and head back to the Cornucopia or see that it was a deer and possibly kill it to eat.

I sat back in the seat, pleased with myself. I quietly surveyed the Control Room. No one seemed suspicious of anything, even Blaine, who caught my eye and smiled.

I sighed with relief. Now Glenn was isolated. Perfect.

I looked at him on the screen. His eyes were looking every which way, almost reminding me of a chameleon. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He didn't seem any less scared than before, but he didn't look more scared either.

His face was still bruised, and he looked stiff and sore. He bit his lip and scratched his head. What was going on in that brain of his? I would give almost anything to know.

Did I ever pop up in his thoughts? Even just for a second? I liked to think so, but deep down I know that more than likely wasn't the case.

But if he could just make it through the next couple of days…make it through the Feast, the mutts, the tornado, the Final Battle…just make it home…maybe I would. But that was getting way too far ahead of the Game.

_Just stay alive_, I thought. _Just stay alive and come home to me. You can do this_. I paused.

_No,_ we_ can do this_.

* * *

The rest of the day didn't require much, and the next day, I spent a lot of time talking to mentors and sponsors.

Many complimented me for the fight between Willow and Sage and for Tinker's newly crazed attitude.

All day, I eyed Glenn's mentor, Buggy. She was still fairly young, with thin, dirty blonde hair and light brown eyes. She was small, but sturdy, and very rarely showed any emotion.

That afternoon, at a lunch banquet, I decided to approach her.

I slid into the seat beside her. "Hi, I'm Leta Constantine, I'm the-"

"Head Gamemaker," she finished for me. "I know. What do you want?" she asked, straight to the point.

"Are you enjoying the Games?" I asked, smiling.

"I suppose. I've got better kids than I have in past years. Normally I've lost 'em by now."

"Well Glenn seems like a smart kid," I mentioned casually.

"Yeah, he isn't dumb. Not weak either. I just wish he'd _do_ something so I could get him medicine for that eye." She shook her head.

Ok, so she _was_ trying to get sponsors for Glenn.

"Deisa's not confident enough," she continued. "At least Glenn's a bit optimistic."

"Well, so far they're both doing alright."

"Yeah," she scoffed a little. "Because they stand a chance against Duff or Deliah."

"He co-" I caught myself. "_They_ could. They just need some sponsors."

She looked at me, confused. "Yeah, that's the reason I'm here."

"So how's the search going?" I looked down at my plate, trying to act casual.

"Um...not well. They need to, as I said before, _do_ something."

"Glenn escaped that fire without injuries, that's something." I said quickly, then pursed my lips because I hadn't checked myself first.

"Oh yeah, running away. That's the equivalent of having a weapon or being insane," she said sarcastically. "Please." She turned her attention back to her food.

"Have you been playing up the fan favorite angle?"

She nodded. "It's the only thing I've got," she said solemnly. "But it's just not enough anymore."

"You just need to get him home. He doesn't need a lot. He's made it over half way, he'll be alright," I said, more for myself than for her.

"If there's any way to get him- or her- home," she said back, "you know I'll do it. I'll go the ends of the world for either of those kids. I'll get one of them to the victor's circle." She turned and walked away sadly.

_Glenn!_ I wanted to yell after her. _Pick Glenn! Get him home! Get him back to me!_

But she was already out of earshot.

* * *

_**A/N: Hello! So I'm heading off to school in exactly two weeks (and I'm super shucking excited!), so I decided that I need to start posting more than one chapter a week like I've been doing thus far. I'm not going to get the entire story posted before I go, but I'm going to try to get it as far along as I can. **_

_**So I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Let me know who you're rooting for! ;) Thank you so so so much for reading it! Sibuna! x**_


	18. Imagination Takes Over

Back at the Control Room that night, Etta handed me a highlight reel.

"Obviously nothing major has happened all day, but just in case you can pick out something that no one else caught…"

"Which wouldn't surprise me," Blaine added. "If anyone can analyze a Games, it's Leta Constantine," he told Etta.

"Oh, did she learn that from you?" she asked admiringly.

He shook his head. "You can't teach that. It's just a talent. A talent I don't have that you two do," he said, pointing to Etta and me. "It's why you're Head Gamemaker material and I'm not."

Etta smiled and giggled, but her eyes were blood shot and had dark circles under them.

"Etta, how long have you been here?" I asked.

She glanced at her watch. "About 24 hours."

"Jeez, what are you still doing here? Go on home, we'll take it from here," I told her.

She looked conflicted, biting her lip. "Ok," she finally said. "But I'll be back for the Feast." She smiled and left.

"Was she really here all this time?" I asked Blaine once she was gone.

He nodded. "She's really into these Games. And she absolutely idolizes you."

"Well I don't know about idolizes…" I smiled. "She's a potential Gamemaker, and she's more than Head Gamemaker material. Of course she looks up to the current Head Gamemaker."

Blaine chuckled. "_Everyone_ looks up to the Head Gamemaker."

"Besides," I teased, "it's not me she's in love with."

Blaine flushed, but crossed his arms and tried to look mad. "No, 'love' is a huge exaggeration. Can we just drop it?"

I laughed. "Oh please. You love it."

He broke into a smile. "Ok, yeah. I guess it's kinda hard to resist me," he said, smoothing his hair.

I laughed again, patting his shoulder as I went to leave.

Everyone was still alive and in pretty much the same condition as this morning. The weather had cooled down drastically, and wind blew through the arena.

Deliah, Duff and Brian were huddled under blankets, but never lost their grip on their weapons. Sage was hunting around the winter section, gritting her teeth against the cold. A sponsor has sent her gloves.

Glenn was picking at some berries. My stomach dropped? Poisonous? A look at his tracker told me no. In fact, he seemed to be doing fine. Heart rate, oxygen, everything looked ok.

I was smiling uncontrollably on my way back to the Head Gamemaker post. For a minute, I allowed myself to imagine it- what is could be like if Glenn won.

I could be the first to greet him on the hovercraft. I could tell him that I love him, that I've loved him since the reaping. And he could say he loves me back. We could be a power-couple of the Capitol- a Head Gamemaker and a victor. Unprecedented, sure, but not impossible.

He'd have a phone in his house on the Victor's Village, and we could talk every night for hours. We could never get married, and we'd be apart a lot, but it'd be worth it. He'd be worth it.

I spent all that evening and most of that night thinking about him.

At around 2 in the morning, I thought absent-mindedly while lying in bed, "12 hours and the Feast will be over."

That's when worry hit me like Brian had punched me in the stomach. 12 hours. Would Glenn go to the Feast? Would he get food? Any kills? Would he survive? It was unlikely.

He couldn't go. Duff, Deliah, Sage, anyone could take him down in a heartbeat. Tinker could set him on fire. Glenn, my Glenn, could be dead in a matter of hours. He could be dead right now!

In a second, my projector was on. Sage was on air, arrows slung over her shoulder, scaling a small winter mountain.

I watched in agony, still unsure if Glenn was alive. Two minutes. Five. Ten. They ticked by slowly and painfully, until finally Glenn's less-swollen, handsome face appeared, asleep but restless. You could see his eyes darting around under his eyelids.

I giggled, smiling at this nervous twitch, wondering if he ever stopped.

"Don't be scared," I whispered to him. "We'll get you back."

He remained on my screen until I fell asleep.


	19. Feast! Feast! Feast!

I was back in the Control Room by 5:00 that morning, gulping coffee laced with vanilla.

"Send the Feast announcement out at ten. Make sure Claudius doesn't mention the seasons or the change scheduled for this afternoon, it could dissuade them from coming."

Evangelos nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he smiled.

People were already gathering at the Square, excited for the Feast. Some had camped out, in high tech tents and the most comfortable designer clothes. An official order had been given for school to be cancelled for the event.

"Is everything in place?" I asked the room. A chorus of affirmative answers filled the room. I smiled. "Excellent."

Blaine arrived in the Control Room around 9:00.

"Sorry I'm late," he panted. "The Square is packed. More than I've ever seen it before. People are really excited for this."

Finally, 10:00 arrived. Not even a second late, Claudius Templesmith's voice rang out to the tributes.

"Attention tributes. At noon today, in two hours' time, there shall be a Feast at the Cornucopia. There will be food for all and all are welcome. Good luck tributes. And may the odds be ever in your favor."

The crowd in the Square went wild, excited to see the reactions of the tributes.

Duff and Brian high-fived. Deliah laughed. Sage had reversed her course immediately and was jogging towards the summer sector quietly, loaded bow in hand. Tinker laughed manically and began to assemble his make-shift fire launchers. Graham was examining the sky, trying to find his way to the summer sector. Deisa looked nervous, and decided to scale a tree, probably with the intention of avoiding the Feast. Conifer had, without changing his expression, began to find his way to the Cornucopia. Lana had slept through the announcement and would probably sleep through the Feast, too.

Glenn bit his lip. I think he was weighing his options. After about 5 minutes of what looked like careful consideration, he got up and started moving towards the summer sector.

"No, no, no, I can't protect you in this situation," I murmured. Every so often, he'd slow down and hesitate, but then shake his head and move on.

Around 11:30, eight tributes were positioned around the summer sector. Deisa and Lana were the only ones absent.

The Square was packed with people, making bets, eating from a huge banquet, and chanting. "Feast! Feast! Feast!" boomed through the Square, engulfing the Control Room in a slow, constant rhythm. "Feast! Feast! Feast!"

Glenn was hidden in a bush of flowers about 100 feet from the edge of the summer sector.

"Just stay in spring, please!?" I screamed in my head.

Etta walked up to me at that point, holding a cup of coffee like her life depended on it. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope, you're just in time. Everyone's positioned around the Cornucopia except Lana and Deisa," I told her.

She smiled. "Wow, this is going to be awesome!" Her eyes were glued to the screen, just as everyone else in Panem.

11:45. 15 more agonizingly slow minutes. I spent most of them trying to figure out how to keep Glenn out of the certain fight that was about to happen. It had to be subtle, something that wouldn't be noticed.

11:55. No time to think now. I just had to have confidence that he'd be ok.

I took a deep breath and bit my lip. I was possibly about to watch him die. Get hacked up by Conifer, speared by Duff, or burned by Tinker.

I couldn't think about that right now. I had a Feast to produce. Separate from emotions. I just had to trust that he had a plan.

11:59. The table began to rise.

Noon. The table clicked into place covered in fresh fruits, vegetables, breads from every remaining district and a variety of cheeses.

In about 10 seconds, Brian and Duff were at the table. They grabbed armfuls of food for about a minute before an arrow ended Duff's time in the arena.

Brian, taken by surprise, broke into a run, barely escaping Sage's second arrow.

Sage quickly loaded another arrow in her bow, sprinted by the table, grabbed some thick rolls and cheese, then darted away.

Graham was at the table next, followed closely by a nearly-silent Tinker. Graham grabbed some of the fruit and was stuffing it in his backpack, breathing heavily.

Tinker lit a wrapped acorn and launched it, missing Graham by about six inches. Graham whipped around, spear positioned to throw, but Tinker was already launching another flame.

Graham ducked, but it was too late. His bright white jacket, just moments before glittering like snowflakes, burst into flames. It didn't take long for Tinker to hit his legs.

"Summer!" I yelled. "Summer now please!"

Then I bit my lip. But I couldn't stop it now.

The seasons began to change.

Just as Glenn ran into the summer sector.


	20. Nothing I Could Do

Glenn ran to the back of the summer sector, panting slightly. His body tensed at the sound of Graham's pained screams. He looked back to the spring sector, but was met with the sight of flames at the border. No turning back now.

My heart started to beat faster. The hologram map told me that Conifer, Tinker, Graham, and Deliah joined him in the sector. Graham was burning to death, so he didn't pose a threat anymore, but any of the three others could kill him easily. And he was unarmed.

"What is he thinking?" I asked out loud.

Etta shrugged. "Maybe he thinks it'll get him a sponsor. It shows he's not a coward. Makes him a better bet than Diesa or Lana."

I wrung my hands nervously. She was right, but what could I do to ensure his safety? Nothing at this point. Absolutely nothing. And even if there was some way, I couldn't think straight enough to come up with it.

Glenn was running around the side of the Cornucopia. He paused, crouching. He glanced around to the table. No one was there at the moment. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. How much longer would that fire contain him? It couldn't be too much longer.

A cannon fired for Graham, burned to death by Tinker's flames. Would that be Glenn's demise as well? I could only hope not.

He took another deep breath and opened his eyes. They quickly scanned his surroundings. Suddenly, he sprinted around, grabbing some apples and bread.

In another second, Tinker had fire coming his way. Luckily, it missed him.

Glenn's adrenaline was pumping, and his heart raced.

Tinker was in position to fire again when Deliah made her first appearance. She threw a knife that hit Tinker, lodging itself in his shoulder. His concentration was no longer on Glenn, but on Deliah.

I sighed, almost crying from the relief. Glenn made it back to the edge of the spring sector, glancing nervously around for pursuers.

Tinker and Deliah were still locked in a battle, but where was Conifer? Still hiding out.

After a few more agonizing minutes, I couldn't take it anymore. I went over to a Gamemaker and took over his post. I hit the appropriate buttons to end the fire that divided the sectors.

"The focus needs to be on the fight happening, not the theatrics," I said to justify myself.

The fire went out, and Glenn was sprinting into the spring sector, back to his camp. Alive!

I breathed a sigh of relief again. And now he had some extra food.

Back at the Feast, Tinker had run away without any actual food but with his first kill. Deliah had part of her hair burnt off and was collecting food and stuffing it in her pack. Conifer was still poised along the border of the sector.

"Why doesn't Conifer go after her?" Etta wondered.

"Maybe he figures she can throw a knife farther than he could throw his ax," I suggested.

Etta grinned. "Maybe he doesn't want blood in his food."

I had to laugh. "Well, you can't blame him. I wouldn't want blood in my Feast either."

Finally, Deliah had cleared the table into 2 packs. She started off towards the winter sector, munching on a pear as she walked.

As soon as she was gone, Conifer ran over to Graham's body. He grabbed the spear Graham dropped when he was first hit by Tinker. He was also able to save half a pack of food from the remains of Graham's scorched bag. He also grabbed Duff's backpack, though there wasn't as much food in it. Then he darted back to the fall sector, unharmed in every way.

Etta and I just stared. Blaine laughed from across the room. "Maybe he was just waiting for his opportunity!" he yelled over to us.

"Shut up Blaine!" I yelled back. He just kept laughing. Etta and I were trying to stay stubborn, but soon we were laughing too.

"How did we not see that coming?"

"It was genius!"

The people in the Square were cheering now, pumped up by the two deaths we'd just witnessed.

"So do you think Brian and Deliah will split?" Etta asked.

I nodded. "Now that there are only two of them, they'll be going after each other and Sage. And Deliah will be looking for Tinker to deliver an extra-special revenge," I smirked. "Revenge for her hair.

Etta smiled. "I pity the boy who messes with a District 1 girl's hair," she said.

The Square was finally calming down.

"Ok," I said after I finally calmed down too. "Let's start showing everyone. Start with Tinker, that knife wound is probably the worst injury we have."

On screen, Tinker was staggering back to the fall sector, clutching his shoulder. Blood seeped onto his jacket and soaked his hand. But his expression never changed from the smirk he had come to be known for.

A small syringe of medicine was sent by a sponsor, but he kept moving without bothering to look inside to see what had been sent to him.

Etta threw her hands up. "He's crazy!" she said exasperatedly. "He's just insane!"

Tinker just kept on moving forward. Finally, I think the pain got to him. He grabbed the syringe and jammed it into his arm. He sat down for a while, playing with the now-empty syringe in his hands.

"Ok, let's show the former Primary Alliance. Now that they're split up, the Game is going to change."

Brian had retreated back to the Cornucopia and was lying in the grass by himself. He had stripped off his jacket, boots, and socks, but still seemed to be covered in sweat due to the newly introduced heat.

Deliah had already depleted half of her water supply. Most of the other tributes were also beginning to be affected by the weather. Jackets were starting to come off and sweat drenched their underclothes.

Lana, ironically, was in the best position in the shady cave. She still had done nothing this whole time, but it seemed to be working in her favor at the moment.

"We'll have to send something after her pretty soon," I said to no one in particular.

"Yeah, she needs some action," Blaine said, appearing beside me out of seemingly nowhere.

I nodded, then brightened up. "Feedback on the Feast?" I asked expectantly.

His face fell and he shook his head. "Definitely not what we've gotten in past years," he said.

My stomach plunged. "What? But…but I thought it was great…" I said on the verge of tears.

Blaine started laughing. "Leta, I'm just joking! Well sort of. People are calling it the best Feast ever. They loved it!"

Relief washed over me, and I tried to be mad. "Not funny!" I said, crossing my arms. But that just made Blaine laugh harder, and soon I couldn't keep my poker face anymore.

When he had regrouped, he gave me a full report. Everyone had been shocked by Duff's death, and had loved Tinker's fire-shooter. Glenn, according to popular opinion, should have fallen to Tinker.

"Which is something I can't say I disagree with," Blaine said as a side note.

My stomach jumped at the words. _Glenn should have fallen…_

I calmed myself down. _But he didn't,_ I told myself over and over. _ He's still alive. He can still win…_

"Leta?" Blaine said, snapping me back to reality. "Yoo-hoo! Leta? Are you okay?" he said. He waved his hand in front of my face.

"Yeah," I responded quickly. Perhaps too quickly.

Blaine raised his eyebrows at me. "Are you sure? You seem a bit pre-occupied," he asked, confused.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just over-excited I suppose."

I was worried that Blaine might persist with questions, but thankfully he dropped it.

"Well, you should be. That was awesome." He smiled and switched his gaze to a screen. "Think anything else is gonna happen today?"

I shook my head. "Everyone's pumped up, but they're all just spread out so much. The heat will start to get them probably around tomorrow afternoon. I expect another death by tomorrow night."

He nodded, eyes still glued to the screen. "Ok."


	21. Worry

The rest of the day was a typical day at this point. The heat had forced most everyone to slow down considerably. Many had been forced to venture out of their camps to find water. Few had succeeded. Many of the tributes tried to fall asleep, but the heat made it too uncomfortable for anyone to sleep for too long.

The heat, surprisingly, seemed to re-energize Brian. He had slept for a small while and was now hunting around the spring sector. He had a sword, but his sweaty hands caused him to drop it over and over again.

But still he persisted, venturing farther into the sector, but in the opposite direction of Glenn.

I sighed. Brian had to just keep moving away from Glenn. Just stay away. Glenn was finally getting the hang of the Games- risk and survival. He was eating his earnings from the Feast at the moment.

I watched his on the screen, stripped down to his underclothes, fall jacket tossed aside in a heap. He was more built that I had given him credit for, and his hair was drenched and stuck to his forehead.

He seemed so close- _so close_- but he wasn't. He was in an arena, miles and miles away. He didn't know he was on a screen right now. He didn't know I was watching him. He didn't know I loved him. But I still did.

I felt a pang. I loved him so much. And no one knew.

For a moment, I wanted to tell someone, but I couldn't. How would that reflect on me as a Head Gamemaker? People would figure out that I had protected him and I would probably be fired, my tongue cut out and I would spend the rest of my life as an Avox. And if he didn't win… it'd all just be for nothing.

I sighed again. I would worry about that if anyone found out. But right now, no one knew. So I couldn't focus on that right now.

What I did need to focus on was Lana. She was mal-nourished and hadn't had a drink since moving caves. Her mentor was almost always drunk, but who could blame him? She was worthless as a tribute.

I decided to let her go until tomorrow night, when the arena would freeze and winter would come.

After running the idea by Wylie and Blaine, I went upstairs, still worried about Glenn.

But as far as I could tell, he'd be alright. He'd made it this far, he could keep going. He could win.

I fell asleep peacefully.

He could definitely win.


	22. The Third Page

When I walked in the Control Room the next day, Jenn handed me a stack of papers and a highlight reel of the past 8 hours. Normally, nothing of significance is ever on that reel, besides a Primary Alliance bonfire or tributes sleeping, so I tossed it aside for the time.

I sat down at the Head Gamemaker post and glanced down the first paper: condition of the arena, anything significant that the Gamemakers had done through the night, and a list of sponsor gifts to be sent that next day. I saw a list of one for Tinker, one for Brian, and one for Conifer. I didn't see Glenn's name anywhere on the list, but that wasn't surprising- he hadn't gotten a kill yet, why would he have any sponsors?

The next page contained updated tribute odds, which steadily increased or decreased every day. As I read through the list, I noticed that a name that was there yesterday wasn't there today- Glenn.

Thinking it was simply a mistake, I quickly flipped to the third page- the list of tributes that had fallen during the night. Only one tribute was listed.

Tears sprang to my eyes as I read Glenn's name.

I grabbed the highlight reel and watched in horror as Brian ended his life. He had been knocked unconscious, and his neck had been snapped. Instant death. There wasn't even a fight. It was quick, almost able to be over-looked.

But it had happened. And now he was gone.

I barely held back my sobs as I told Blaine that I would be stepping out for a moment, and ran to my room. Then, I just cried.

He had been my favorite. I felt like I had known him. I had wanted him to win so badly. I pictured us spending the entire Victory Tour together. I had loved him. I still loved him.

How could this happen? Why was I not there to help him when he needed it? Why did he have to die?

It was then I realized- this is how his family would be feeling. This is how the parents and siblings and friends of every fallen tribute felt. They would have to deal with the fact that they would never come home.

I sobbed for another few minutes before clenching my teeth, wiping my eyes and setting my expression stone cold.

_And this is how Brian's family will feel,_ I thought to myself, _after I personally see to his death._

I splashed my face with some water and blew my nose. I couldn't let anyone know the emotional connection I had with Glenn. Or at least the one I wanted us to have.

I walked back into the Control Room with confidence.

"Get a cannon ready," I heard Blaine say.

"Cannon?" I peered over his shoulder.

"Yeah," Blaine smiled and pointed to the electronic map. "Conifer's less than 200 feet away from Diesa. He's got a newly sharpened ax and is on the prowl. District 6 was doing good. Looks like we're gonna lost 'em both in a span of 4 hours."

I tried to fake a smile so he wouldn't see just how much that pained me. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Hey, what's up with you?" Blaine punched my arm. "One district's two tributes in a row. That's rare, outside the first fight at the Cornucopia. Why aren't you excited?"

"I am excited! C'mon, you know that." I punched him back. Then I grabbed his hand and tugged it. "Hey, come here. I have to run something by you."

I led him to a back room and wasted no time in my purpose for being there. "I think it's time we got involved in this. Took a tribute out. Like Brian for instance."

Blaine raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

I nodded and smiled "Just a reminder that we're still here. And we have the power."

Blaine looked conflicted. "What if we just pushed him towards Conifer?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm saving a confrontation like that for the final battle." I grabbed his hands. "Please Blaine? To shake things up?"

He looked at me, still conflicted, before saying something I never thought I'd hear.

"You loved Glenn."

He dropped my hands. "That's why you want to kill Brian. To avenge his death."

Blaine turned away, and for the first time since I'd known him, he was mad. Mad at me at that.

"I – I don't know what you mean."

He turned back around, his eyes filled with fire.

"Don't play dumb. You can do that with Wylie or Scot or President Snow, but it doesn't work with me. I saw your reaction to his death this morning. You 'loved his suit' during interviews. You were prepared to turn the training scores debate into a Games of their own to boost his score. You protected him in that arena. You saved him more than once. You think I didn't notice that?"

Blaine was angry now, and he was losing the battle to keep his voice down. This got my temper boiling.

"Ok, yeah. I did kinda like him. And I was upset when he died. So what? Gamemakers have favorites too! Why do you care anyways? You're making this a much bigger deal than it needs to be, Blaine!"

"No, I'm not. This guy's changed you. You just went up to your room and cried over a death. You used to cheer on the killings, now they make you _cry_? That's not the Leta I know. That's not the girl I fell in love with."

* * *

**_A/N: Please don't hate me. It was hard to know that Glenn couldn't make it, and this was an extremely difficult chapter to write. But this is by no means the end of Leta's story, nor the end of her feelings for Glenn, so I hope you'll all stick with me (and her) through the rest of these Games._**

**_Also, I have written the beginning of a potential alternate ending where Glenn does make it to the end, which I might post after this story is done._**

**_Thank you all for reading and for your wonderful comments. I love you all! xx_**


	23. Light Brown Eyes with Flicks of Green

Blaine's eyes grew wide for a split second, and his whole demeanor changed. I guessed he hadn't planned to admit that he was in love with me.

We both stood there, not sure how to proceed. I broke first.

"Well…um…I have to…finish that highlight reel. And do some…other stuff."

I turned quickly and walked out, not turning back to see how Blaine reacted.

I sat at my desk with my head in my hands. A whole string of emotions hit me at once.

Confusion hit first. Blaine? Love me? It didn't make sense to me at all. We were super close friends, sure, but that was it.

Anger followed not long after. So all this time, he loved me? And he hadn't told me? And he picks now, of all times, to do so? Plus, when the confliction hit, it made me even angrier because I was questioning my feelings for him.

My last emotion was wonder. Mainly, what he was doing now. And then I felt guilty. I had just left him there, probably upset and mad at himself, mad at me, without even a clue as to how I felt about it.

_That's not true._ I told myself. _You ran away without giving him a second glance. He probably thinks you hate him._

I was on the verge of tears again. He had told me not five minutes ago that he loved me. Now he probably hated me. And I couldn't stand that thought.

We were best friends. I hadn't trusted anyone even half as much as I trusted Blaine.

I started sketching a mutt to calm myself down, maybe one I'd use next year, when Jenn knocked.

"Miss, they need you on the floor."

I wiped my eyes and yelled back, "Ok!" I needed to snap out of this. Crying was not my job right now.

So I got up and walked out with a smile.

As it turns out, I walked out just in time to watch Conifer chop Diesa to bits. She actually put up a pretty good fight given what she had. But it wasn't enough to save her.

Watching her die, watching Glenn's district partner die, was just salt in the wound. But I laughed and cheered with everyone else.

I glanced across the room to Blaine. He was clapping, excited by another cannon. Had he forgotten what had happened already?

I couldn't stand to be in that room at the moment. I left Jenn in change and headed out. I knew one thing- there was only one person in the Capitol hurting more than me.

I needed to go see Buggy.

* * *

She was on the sixth floor of the Training Room building. I heard quiet sobs as I approached and knocked on the door.

"Buggy? It's Leta. Do you want to talk?"

The crying stopped abruptly. "Why would you want to talk? You still have six tributes left, I've got none." Her voice caught on the last word.

"I'll explain. Please can I come in?"

She paused, but soon I heard footsteps approaching the door. When she opened it, I couldn't help but gasp. Her eyes were puffy and red. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. Her hair looked like it hadn't been combed in ages. She hadn't looked this bad since she was in the arena herself.

She turned back to the couch, where tissues littered the floor.

"I'm really sorry Buggy," I started. "I know you really loved them."

"Not half as sorry as I am," she said, holding tissues up to her eyes.

"No, I am. I really am. And I'm really sorry I couldn't save Glenn." I wasn't controlling my words at this point. What did I have to lose?

A lump started to form in my throat. "I tried, I really did… to protect him, you know? But I was asleep, and Brian came out of nowhere…" My voice trailed off.

Buggy stared at me before responding.

"You tried to…protect him?"

I nodded confirmation.

"But…why?"

I thought for a moment. "It doesn't matter anymore," I said matter-of-factly.

It looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but someone else was knocking on the door. Buggy seemed to be expecting it, but still she hung her head and whispered, "I hate this part. I hate all of this, but it's just unbearable."

I didn't know what she meant at first, but as soon as the door opened, it made sense.

An Avox, dressed in black with a small gold 6 on his sleeve was standing at the door. Beside him stood a simple black box studded with small jewels, open to reveal a tall body.

A corpse.

Dark brown hair fell past its eyebrows. Its nose was slightly crooked and its eyes slightly bruised. Its neck was bent at a weird angle. I covered my mouth to keep from crying.

The Avox moved the box inside and left quickly. It took all my strength to hold back tears.

Glenn. His dead body. Placed in a box to be shipped back to District 6. Forever. Buried underground.

He would never get that promotion. We would never get to talk on the phone. I would never get to tell him I love him.

But none of that was able to break me. Nothing did, until I saw his eyes. They were still light brown with flicks of green. But paralyzed. Fixed on a single point, far off in the distance. No nervous glances. No constant movement. His eyes were still. Maybe for the first time ever.

They would no longer dart around, looking for danger. They were locked in an emotionless gaze.

This became too much for me. I let tears start to roll down my cheek as I approached his box. I gently pulled his eyelids down.

I felt a hand on my back.

"It's ok," Buggy said quietly. "He's alright now."

I smiled sadly. "I know."

I bent down and kissed Glenn's cheek. It left a lipstick mark. I went to wipe it off, but Buggy held me back.

"Leave it," she said. "He would have wanted it."

I froze for a minute, then pulled her into a hug. She tensed up and for a moment I think she was uncomfortable, but soon she hugged me back. Then she pulled back and wiped my eyes.

"Now get back to the Control Room," she told me. "You've got a Hunger Games to finish."

I smiled. "Thanks." I went to the door, and then turned back. "Will you stick around?" I asked Buggy.

She shook her head. "As soon as Diesa's ready, I'm gonna take them home," she said. "But I'll see you next year. Maybe I'll get a victor." She smiled.

"Have a nice trip," I told her.

And with that, I straightened my shoulders, smoothed my hair, and went back to the Control Room.

Glenn was okay now. He was safe. He didn't have to worry anymore.

And neither did I.

* * *

_**A/N: This is the last chapter before I head to school, so it will probably not be updated as frequently as before. I know I said this in the last chapter as well, but thank you so much for reading, reviewing, and everything. I love you all! xx**_


	24. Conversations

Back at the Control Room, I was met by Etta. Her hair was now streaked with sparkly silver, and she was more bubbly than I'd ever seen her.

"Good morning, Miss!" she said brightly. "How are you?"

Broken. Confused. Upset. Sad.

"Fine. I woke up to some big deaths."

She nodded excitedly. "I know! Didn't see those coming. Glenn was just getting his footing."

I gave a half-hearted smile. Then she hit me with the question I'd been dreading all morning.

"Is Blaine ok? He went to get some sleep, but he looked upset. I think he might have been ready to cry."

Cry? I groaned and held my head in my hands.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry, miss," Etta said quickly. "I'll drop it."

I sighed. "No, that's alright. It's just… he told me something and…and I don't think I reacted the way he wanted me to."

I expected her to be confused or question me, but she just turned back to a screen and nodded. "Why didn't you react the way he wanted you to?" she asked.

"I…" I paused. I hadn't thought about that. "I'm not sure."

"Well maybe you need to figure that out before you approach him," she said.

I sighed. "Then I probably won't be able to approach him for a while. The final days of the Games are overwhelming enough without that decision to make."

There was silence for a few moments.

"I don't mean to be out of line," she said suddenly, "but he really likes you, miss. He's crazy about you."

I sighed again. "I know that now. The problem is I've never even considered Blaine as more than my best friend. I haven't even wrapped my head around the fact that he…you know. I never even considered it a possibility. And I don't know what to do."

"Just be honest. With him and yourself," Etta said wisely.

I nodded in response.

Another few silent minutes passed.

"How did you know? That he…he felt that way about me?" I asked her. "Did he tell you?"

She grinned. "No, ma'am. Not directly. But just the way he talked about you, looked at you, acted towards you, I could tell."

My stomach dropped. "Does everyone know then? Was I the only one out of that loop?"

She shook her head. "No, I think I'm the only one."

"How could you pick up on it then?" I asked, confused and intrigued. "Your eye for the Games making its way into real life?"

"No," she said simply. "Because then you could have picked up on it, too." She looked like she was going to say more, but she was hesitating. I was about to give up on the conversation when she said quietly but very matter-of-factly, "I think it's because the looks he gave you are the looks I wanted him to give me."

Guilt rushed over me. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry Etta…"

"There's nothing to be sorry about," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I knew what I was getting into, and I can't control his emotions. You can't either. He doesn't love me, but someone will eventually."

I smiled and reached over to hug her. "You're pretty awesome," I said, smiling.

"I know," she giggled.

And with that, we both turned 100% of our attention to the Games.

With the two deaths that morning, 6 tributes remained- Deliah, Sage, Tinker, Brian, Lana, and Conifer. Everyone was on edge from the heat.

Deliah and Sage were both resting, fanning themselves in an attempt to combat the heat. Tinker still played with the needle from the syringe, jabbing it into different parts of his body. The heat seemed to intensify his insanity.

Brian was eating some food a sponsor had managed to send him. Lana was still in her cave. Her tracker showed that she was low on everything- oxygen, hydration, and nutrients. Tonight's transformation would push her into trouble.

Conifer was on a hunt. The heat didn't seem to affect him at all. In fact, he was still in his pants and jacket.

"I think this is going to be the last day we stay completely out of it," I said. "We need to start pushing people together and getting a few more good fights before the Final Battle," I said to Holland, who had replaced Etta in the early afternoon.

"When do the seasons change?" she asked.

"Tonight. Around 9:00."

"So basically, Lana's screwed over?" she smirked.

"Yeah, basically," I said.

"The winter mutts are so cool," she told me. "Have you seen them?"

I shook my head.

"Oh my gosh, you're going to freak out! They are _incredible_," she said enthusiastically.

She turned to face the entire Control Room. "Blaine!" she called out.

I shut my eyes in dread. I hadn't talked to Blaine since that morning, and I was not ready for this encounter.

"Blaine!" Holland called out again. "Come show Leta the winter mutts!"

I heard him walk over to us, and he called up a hologram.

"They're out biggest mutts," he said tensely. "White fur, claws, and huge fangs. Think snow monster. Silent. Icy. Dangerous." He was uneasy, but overly official and serious. How was I supposed to react to this?

"Awesome," I said, trying my best to act like normal. "Those'll be great. Thanks, Blaine." I smiled, but avoided eye contact. He nodded stiffly and walked away.

Holland gave me a look, but didn't say anything. I concentrated on the screens.

* * *

_**A/N: I think I'll go back to posting every Sunday. Thank you to everyone to told me to have fun at school, it's been a blast so far. Both of my roommates are Hunger Games fans! So hopefully I'll make time every Sunday to get a new chapter up. Thanks for reading. xx**_


	25. A Bit of Vengeance

About an hour later, Brian and Sage were separated by only a quarter mile, and they were moving towards each other at a reasonably fast pace.

"Get ready for a Sage/Brian brawl," I yelled to the Room. Finally, a good fight to take my mind off of everything. And it was two strong tributes. No one would go down without a fight.

In five more minutes, Brian caught sight of Sage. Hunger for another kill flickered in his eyes. Her back was to him, and he saw his opportunity. He started to walk towards her, but when only about 20 feet separated them, he stepped on a twig, which cracked loudly.

Sage whipped around upon hearing this, and had a bow loaded in a heartbeat. Brian had his sword up at the same time.

I held my breath. For a long time, they just stared at each other. Tension was mounting, and neither one moved at all.

Sage was the first to break, and sent an arrow towards Brian. He was ready for it though, and was able to avoid it unharmed. He lunged at her, slicing her arm deep, but not enough to affect her.

She kicked him off, sending him flying backwards. He was off balance for only a moment, but one of her arrows hit his stomach. He ripped it out, throwing it aside, but his undershirt was already becoming bloody. He was breathing heavily and wheezing, but he wasn't done.

He went for her leg this time, and cut it so far deep that you could see the bone clearly.

Sage still had the advantage, and kicked him again, in the stomach this time, right where the arrow had hit. Brian fell backwards, clutching his stomach and moaning. His sword was still in his hand, but it didn't take much for Sage to be able to take it. She threw it aside, just out of his direct reach.

Brian was curled into a ball, but Sage wrestled him onto his back and stomped on his wound. He yelled out in pain, but she leaned down and slapped him across the face.

"Shut up," she said with superiority. He moaned softly.

Sage loaded a bow and aimed it at his heart, but didn't let it fly.

I watched, captivated. This was intense.

"Just think," Sage continued, never moving the aim of her arrow, "I get the pleasure of killing both tributes from District 4."

Brian's eyes grew wide. Had he not figured out how Willow had died?

"Oh, you didn't know that?" Sage taunted. "Yeah, I killed her, too. Not the arena," she stomped on his stomach, "Not some poisonous food," _stomp_, "Not another tribute," _stomp_, "Not Gamemakers," _stomp_, "Me."

And with that, she let the arrow go. Brian didn't fight it, and not long after Sage left him to die, his tracker turned red.

It was an awesome fight, and Sage had made it perfect with her taunting. I was super excited about the fight, but there was a part of me that I couldn't control that had the satisfaction of vengeance. Glenn may be dead, but now Brian was, too.

I heaved a sigh of relief. Now I really had closure. What could I have done if Brian had won? How could I just treat him like any normal victor? At least that wouldn't have to be the case. I smiled. Maybe Sage could win and I'd be able to congratulate her personally.

A cannon boom for Brian snapped me back.

"Final five," I said, happily. This was really winding down. "How many hours until the winter transformation?" I asked Holland, hoping it was almost 9:00.

"Um… about 2 hours."

2 hours. Plus the transformation time. I groaned. Today was the longest day ever, and I just wanted to sleep.

But, I was Head Gamemaker, so I pressed on. The minutes ticked by slowly. Wylie subbed in for Holland part way through, but I barely noticed. The day before, I could have focused my attention on watching and protecting Glenn or spent the time talking to Blaine, but all that was gone now.

Well…

I glanced over nervously at Blaine. He was silently watching on a normal television screen. He had dark circles under his eyes. Should I go talk to him? Would that make things better? Or worse? Things couldn't get any worse, right? Or could they?

But even if I did go talk to him, what could I say? Bring up the final five? Brian's death? What color I should dye my hair when all this was over?

Ugh, this was all just too complicated. I decided to just stay put for now.


	26. Fights

I focused on the tributes. Most were just still doing what they'd been doing previously.

Deliah was resting in the winter sector, but on the opposite side from Lana, whose oxygen level, hydration, and heart rate were all still dangerously low.

Conifer was hunting around, still with no luck. Sage was tending to her wounds, cursing about her mentor because no one was sending medicine. Eventually a parachute arrived, but infection had already set in.

Tinker had abandoned his needle and had moved into the Cornucopia. He was humming a very repetitive tune that echoed through the Cornucopia. He still had matches and his launcher, but was out of food and water.

Finally, it was time for the final transformation of seasons. Fire blazed around the sectors. As the temperature cooled, the tributes were given momentary relief from the scalding hot temperatures of the past few days. Soon, though, they all began to feel the winter air.

Conifer still had his jacket, and it was in perfect condition. He was probably the most well-off. Sage and Deliah had their coats as well and Lana had never taken hers off.

Tinker was the only remaining tribute who had completely lost his coat. He had left it by a tree when the summer fist began. He gritted his teeth as he felt the cold, but didn't move positions. But Tinker wasn't my focus at the moment. The winter mutts were about to be released on Deliah and Lana.

"Make sure at least one targets Lana specifically," I called behind me.

A few minutes later, the first one appeared. You could barely see or hear it, but it was unmistakably there. Soon, the first mutt was joined by others.

Half of the pack began to follow Deliah's path, while the other half went to find Lana. They walked upright, but moved slowly, purposefully.

Deliah was asleep, tightly gripping one of her knives. The pack found her without too much trouble and began to close in. The ground shook with their steps, and the vibrations jolted Deliah awake.

In an instant, she had a knife through the heart of the leader. She seemed to remain calm, but her heart rate jumped.

The mutts didn't slow down, and continued to advance towards Deliah. She reached for another knife, but her hands shook and she only hit the next mutt in the shoulder. It didn't faze him at all.

It was clear that the only way to go about handling these mutts was to flee rather than fight, but Deliah's Primary attitude kept her locked in this hopeless battle.

She had her shaky hands under control now, and she was taking out mutts left and right. About two minutes later, she was knifeless and was left with two mutts to face.

She tried to grab the knife out of the lifeless mutt closest to her, but it was in vain. By the time she had the knife in position to throw, it was useless. One of the remaining mutts grabbed her from behind and lifted her into the air.

The knife fell from her hand, and that finally broke her.

She screamed and reached frantically for it, and when she realized her attempt was futile, she broke into heaves of sobs.

The mutt holding her was unmoved by her tears, and sunk his teeth into her neck. Blood poured from the wound, and the mutt threw Deliah into the ground with such force that it was really the impact that killed her.

A cannon fired. Fire around the sectors ceased. The mutts retreated into the ground to be neutralized under the arena. Deliah was dead.

Lana was still in her cave, untouched.

"Seriously?" I turned to Wylie. "Why didn't any of them go after her?"

"Um…" he searched the computer in an attempt to find an answer. "They did go after her, they just moved too slowly to do any damage. They just didn't reach her."

I sighed. "At least we got a fight out of them. But if nothing happens to her in the next 24 hours, I will personally go in to that cave with a sword and behead her myself."

Wylie gave a small laugh, but I was 100% serious. I was sick of her doing nothing.

I needed to vent, which normally meant going to Blaine. But would it still be weird?

I watched Lana for a few minutes before I was mad enough that I didn't care.

I glanced around the Control Room. Blaine was still watching the live feed. I walked up to him slowly.

"Did you see the mutt fight?" I asked carefully.

He nodded, not taking his gaze off the screen.

"It was pretty intense…especially seeing her break down right near the end," I continued.

He nodded again, this time saying "Yep" quietly.

"But Lana…man, she doesn't do anything. And she's still alive! It's sad really. To see someone like her make it this far," I said.

He continued to nod, but stayed silent. Finally, the tension between us became too much for me.

"Look, Blaine, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just not expecting it and I know I didn't handle it well and I'm sorry. Can we please just move on?" I asked, smiling nervously and holding my arms out for a hug.

He hestitated, but accepted my hug. He pulled away quickly.

"I can't move on though. You know that, right?"

I looked at him, confused and surprised.

"I mean," he started to explain, "I can't move on from you. I really, really like you, Leta. And I pretty much always have. You heard me this morning. I meant it." He turned his head and stared at the floor. "Obviously, you don't feel that way about me. But that's not going to change the way I feel about you."

I froze, not quite sure how to take this. He must have thought I needed more explanation.

"Because we'd make a good couple. We already have a nearly-effortless relationship. We could just…"

"Stop," I finally said. "Please. Blaine, I appreciate this, but there's just too much going on right now for me to really think this through."

Sadness flickered in his eyes. "I can't believe I'm outdone by some nerd from the transportation district," he said quietly with anger and disbelief in his voice.

Glenn? Was he really bringing up Glenn? This was enough to set me over the edge.

"_Don't_ bring him into this, Blaine. He has nothing to do with this and you know it. So stop being so blinded by jealousy and let's just get through the rest of these Games."

"He has _everything_ to do with this! If you had just let those leaf mutts get him from the beginning, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"What is your problem with him? You've wanted him gone since training."

"Problem? I don't have a problem. I'm not the one in love with a dead tribute who never stood a chance anyways!"

Tears sprang to my eyes. That stung, and it hit me right in the heart. It was the most hurtful thing I'd ever heard Blaine say to anyone.

He sighed as he saw my reaction, and his face became apologetic. "I'm sorry. I really am. I'm sorry that his death made you this upset. But I really don't get it. How could you love a tribute?"

"I'm…I'm not sure Blaine. I'm really not. He just…he was different. I don't know how. I just fell hard for him. I don't expect you or anyone else to really understand." I sighed and turned to walk away. "But it doesn't really matter anymore. Like you said…he's dead."

"And I'm sorry I said that. I didn't know it would hurt you so badly." He wrapped his arms around me. I held him tight. But it still wasn't the same effortless hug we usually shared.

"Let's just focus on these next few days, and these last four tributes. Emotions can wait until the victor is crowned," he said quietly.

I nodded, but I knew the next few days would be some of the longest of my life.


	27. That's All I Ever Asked For

_**A/N: This chapter is hinged on a reference from way back in Chapter 2. Just remember what Leta said she really wanted for her first Games. Enjoy!**_

* * *

We stood in silence for a few moments before he changed his expression, with some effort, to the normal Blaine smile. The one I'd gone almost 24 hours without seeing. "So Lana's your pick to win?" he asked me.

"Oh my gosh, if she wins I think I'll strangle her," I said. "She's so boring!"

Blaine laughed, but there was still a hint of sadness in his voice. "Well, if she doesn't venture out of that cave, she'll die of dehydration soon enough. It's a shame she doesn't have a sponsor," he smirked.

"Definitely," I said. Finally, a death I can look forward to.

"The weather change seems to have affected everyone," Blaine told me, pointing to the screens.

Tinker sat in the Cornucopia, shivering uncontrollably. A sponsor had sent him a blanket, an incredibly expensive gift at this point, but it was very thin and barely covered his upper body. His tracker showed that his body had begun to slow down.

"Maybe he'll freeze," I observed. "Ironic. The fire shooter may fall to ice."

Blaine nodded. "Ironic. But boring. Doesn't he have some matches left?"

"I think he has a few, but he doesn't have anything to really sustain a fire. He could use his launchers, but I think that'll be his absolute last resort."

I looked away from Tinker's screen and over to Sage. She was jumping around in the spring sector, her bow and arrows close by. Her wounds from Brian had healed fairly well with the aid of some medicine. She was panting a bit, her breath visible in the freezing temperatures. But her body temperature was higher than the other three tributes, so who was I to judge?

Conifer was currently the only one to risk building a fire. I guess he was prepared to deal with anyone who tracked the smoke to his location, though I doubt anyone would do that at this point.

Lana was curled into a ball on the ground of her cave. Her whole body convulsed with shivers and she didn't try to fight it. Occasionally she'd rub her hands together, but for the most part she stayed still.

That night, Glenn, Diesa, Brian, and Deliah all that their pictures sent to the Dome. Glenn, as the boy from District 6, was the last face to light up the sky. His dark hair hung almost to his eyes and his eyes were lit with fear and anxiety. But he wasn't frowning.

In fact, the corners of his lips were, just barely, turned up into a smile. My heart skipped a beat. It was really the only time I'd ever seen him smile, besides his sarcastic grin during his interview. Then he flickered out of the sky, and my face fell.

The only time I'd ever seen him really smile. And the only time I ever would.

Something happened in that moment. Something I don't know if I can explain.

I didn't stop loving Glenn. But my heart realized it needed to move on. I needed to stop dwelling on him, and move on with my life.

I never really could have been with Glenn- it was stupid for me to think I could have- so I needed to stop pretending that even if he won, things would be different. He would have become a Panem celebrity, but really, he already was.

He was the fan favorite. He was the guy who risked it all at the Feast. He was the one who escaped fire and mutts.

He was a tribute I would always remember, even though he didn't win.

And really, that's all I ever asked for.


	28. Banquets and Snow and Under Control

The next morning I was totally rejuvenated. I had a skip in my step and a genuine smile on my face.

I slid into a seat beside Jenn.

"Good morning, miss," she said.

"Good morning. Anything happen in the past hours?"

She handed me the summary sheets and highlight reel. "No, they mostly all just slept. Lana's not doing well at all, but Tinker finally built a fire."

"Good. I don't think we could afford to lose him at this point, especially to freezing. He's been a strong tribute, he needs a noble death."

Jenn nodded in agreement. "If he faces death at all."

We just watched everything until lunch time, when Blaine came over to us.

"There's a banquet to celebrate the Final Four today. In the Square. You wanna come?" he asked, holding out his hand to me.

I hesitated to grab it, and ended up just getting up from the chair myself. "Sure. Let's grab Etta. I'm sure she wants to go too."

I jogged past him over to her and linked my arm through hers. "C'mon, we're going to a banquet," I said cheerily.

She seemed surprised, but soon she was grinning. "Awesome. Where?"

"In the Square. We have to get Blaine, then we can go."

Her face flushed momentarily at his name, but she kept her cool. "Oh, ok."

When we got back to Blaine, he was staring off into the distance, lost in thought.

"Ready?" I asked him. He jumped a bit, but instantly set back into his Blaine smile.

"Yep. Let's go."

The rest of the afternoon was once again spent talking to various sponsors and mentors. A group of middle-aged women were pulling money to get Conifer some more matches. Others were emptying their accounts to get Sage a hot meal.

Tinker's supporters were relatively few, but very rich and powerful. I didn't hear Lana's name once, and many people had simply forgotten who she was.

Good. No sponsors meant no victory.

The whole afternoon, I kept Etta by my side and Blaine ended up just following us around as I raved to people about her potential as a Head Gamemaker. We also watched the Games on the big screen.

Sage was hunting around, occasionally climbing a tree, but she was a mile away from the nearest tribute, Tinker, who was still in the Cornucopia.

Conifer was asleep in the mutt tree in the fall sector, which had since lost all its leaves.

Lana still sat in her cave, but her breathing was extremely slow, and she looked like she was just barely holding on. Maybe she'd finally go tonight. Then we could push the remaining tributes together for an all-out brawl grand finale.

It was a pleasant afternoon, and it was 7:00 when we finally arrived back at the Control Room.

Holland greeted us. "Hello! Welcome back. Nothing major has happened since you left. Obviously."

"That's good though, they need to rest up before we push them towards each other."

I looked hard at the arena. "We're missing something…" I murmured. "Something…snow! It needs snow."

I looked up to see the entire Room. "Can I get some snow, please? Start it light, but build it up as the night goes on," I yelled out.

Instantly, Gamemakers were pressing buttons and dragging clouds over the arena. Soon, light flurries dotted down from the sky.

Sage was the first to notice. She looked up at the sky, annoyed, but didn't slow down her hunt. The rest of the tributes seemed unfazed by it at this point.

About an hour later, the snow was coming down consistently.

"Change the direction on the wind so the snow blows into Lana's cave," I said to Scot.

"Sure thing," he said. He pressed a button and rotated the direction on the wind. Soon enough, Lana's hair was laced with specks of white. Her shivering had become constant and intense, and her skin appeared blue.

"She's a fighter. She's still around, you gotta give her that," Blaine said later that night.

"Yeah, but how will we play her up if she wins? Her victory story will be three hours of her sleeping in that cave."

"Hey, halfway through she switched caves," Blaine pointed out.

"Oh, yeah. That's super intense," I said, annoyed.

Blaine chuckled. "Leta, she won't win, I promise. She won't survive through tomorrow." His voice was steady and reassuring, and actually managed to calm me down.

"Ok," I said. Then, on an almost involuntary impulse, I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. He didn't hesitate before he hugged me back.

"And if she does win…maybe you two can end up best friends," he teased.

I laughed. "Yeah, right."

In that small moment, everything clicked back into place. Blaine and I were back to a nearly-effortless relationship. The Games were approaching the climax. I didn't have to worry about whether the tribute I love will still be alive in the morning. Everything was under control.

* * *

_**A/N: Ahhh we're almost to the end! Things are going to heat up and the pace is going to really pick up in the coming chapters. (There will be some fights and deaths you won't want to miss.) I'm super excited for you all to read them! Thank you so much for reading and sticking with me. I love your reviews! :) xx**_


	29. A Tracker Turns to Red

I went to bed early that night and was in the Control Room at 6:00 the next morning.

Nothing had changed about the status of Tinker. Sage had crossed into the fall sector, but not anywhere near Conifer. Lana was almost completely covered in snow, which was coming down in a thick blanket of white.

"Ma'am," Jenn called me over. "Lana's body temperature is drastically low, and her lack of hydration and nourishment indicates that we'll probably lose her within the next 12 hours, probably sooner."

"The sooner the better," I mumbled.

My eyes flicked over to the monitors and stayed glued there for the rest of the morning.

Tinker built another fire and had been sent a small loaf of bread by sponsors. Sage was closer to him now, and was continuing to move in his direction.

"Maybe we'll get a clash this afternoon," Wylie had commented.

Finally, at 11:32 exactly, Lana's body gave up and her tracker turned to red.

Her death was quiet and wasn't met with the usual grandeur, but I was so excited that I ordered a special lunch for the Control Room.

Blaine pretended to be distraught and upset by her death, and a few times that afternoon I could see the old twinkle in his eyes return. But the twinkle gave me a feeling I couldn't quite place. I shook it off and attributed it to my excitement about Lana's death.

After the grand lunch, I took the Head Gamemaker post and commanded the attention of everyone in the Control Room.

"Tomorrow night I want to have our final two. The day after that, we'll unveil the tornado and have the victor. Everyone understand?"

A sea of nods and affirmative answers filled the Room.

"Good. Then if Sage and Tinker haven't had it out by tomorrow afternoon, we're going to have to push them together."

"How?" Scot asked.

I smiled. "With an avalanche. From the Winter Sector mountains into the Summer."

Faces lit up with joy and anticipation. I saw Blaine nod slightly and whisper, "Genius."

I clapped my hands together. "So everyone prepare for an all-nighter tomorrow to prep the tornado."

Everyone maintained their smiles, but some eyes filled with dread.

"Awesome. Then let's get back to it."

So we did.

I hardly slept that night. My mind raced. Two days. We'd have a Victor in two days.

Sage, the consistently strong Primary, Tinker, the methodical madman, or Conifer, the silent threat, would become a Victor. _In just two days!_

My first Games would come to a close. It was strange to think about.

Sure, I could get to design and construct another arena, and I'd play a role in broadcasting the Victory Tour (if President Snow honored me with another year), but I had become attached to this arena. These tributes. This whole extravaganza. It would be so hard to give it up.

My mind drifted into a half-sleep. My thoughts wandered.

It was so nice to have Blaine back; to have his advice, his comfort, his humor, his smile…his smile was really handsome. And he's so smart. It was almost an unreal level of intelligence. And that unreal level of intelligence had chosen to love me. It was really kind of flattering. Why me?

I had never really had the chance to think about it. And I never really thought about my feelings for him.

The way I had reacted would obviously indicate no, I didn't love him back.

But those were unusual circumstances. It had been out of the blue and totally unexpected. And I was focused on Glenn.

Would things be different without Glenn?

Of course. Without him, Blaine would have never made the confession. But would I love Blaine without Glenn?

I sighed as I drifted into sleep. Who knows? And I fell asleep with a smile on my face.


End file.
